Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Increasing flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone. Click for details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

70°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

70°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

Viral before-and-after photos 'speak volumes' about Corn Belt farmers’ nightmare struggles in 2019

By John Roach, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Jun 19, 2019 7:56 PM EDT | Updated Jun 21, 2019 2:54 PM EDT

Copied
Indiana farmer Kyle Cline

In the photo on the right, Kyle Cline, a farmer in Roachdale, Indiana, poses with his arms aloft in one of his cornfields. The stalks growing this year are a far cry from where they were last year at this time when he struck the same pose, as shown in the photo on the left, illustrating the struggle Cline and other farmers are facing this year as a result of a very rainy spring. (Photo courtesy of Tori Cline)

(Photo courtesy of Tori Cline)

A recent Facebook post featuring two photos taken exactly one year apart has gone viral and is visual proof of the difficulties many farmers in the Corn Belt are facing in 2019.

“This is a great representation for people who are outside of the ag world and don’t understand what is going on,” Katie Staton told AccuWeather. Staton’s post racked up 58,000 shares and counting in just two days.

The photos were taken by Tori Cline of her husband Kyle Cline as he stood in their cornfield in New Ross, Indiana, in 2018 and again, in the very same spot, in 2019. Staton, who works for BA Genetics, an independent seed company in Indiana, asked if she could post her friend’s pictures and the words Tori had written about them.

“These two pictures speak volumes to the crisis American farmers are facing this spring,” Cline wrote. “Kyle is 6’3” and the corn was nearly above his head [in 2018]. Most corn around our area is lucky to be out of the ground [in 2019], let alone knee high ... I pray for those who didn’t or still haven’t gotten their crops in -- for their safety and mental health. This year will be one to remember."

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Jason Nicholls agrees, adding, “These pictures are the two extremes; this year is probably the farthest behind and last year was a great example, at least in Indiana, of the best you could expect on June 17. Everything went right in that area last year.”

That’s not the case this year, and Staton, who lives in Fort Wayne, is seeing it firsthand. “The corn is hardly coming through the ground right now.”

The latest USDA Crop Progress showed 84% of Indiana’s corn was planted by June 16 compared to a five-year average of 100%. And that’s up from just 31% on June 2; the state’s five-year average for that date is 94%.

“This year in Indiana, it’s way behind -- I mean way behind -- so the weather for the rest of this season has to be near perfect or they’re not going to harvest a normal crop,” Nicholls said. “That crop is probably going to be 10 to 20 percent less than you would normally see. And at some point later this summer, farmers are going to have to decide if they end up just chopping it up and feeding it to the cattle or do they try to hang on.”

Cline, who works for the Farm Service Agency, told AccuWeather she and her husband have done all they can and are now just keeping an eye on the sky. "We have worried about it and there's not much else we can do from here on out to make the yield better," Cline said. "We can just hope for better days and more sun. As I sit here in the car and we're getting more rain."

Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

Jul. 12, 2025
Hurricane

Tropical trouble in the Atlantic may brew into next week

Jul. 13, 2025
Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

Jul. 12, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms fuel increasing flash flooding threat in Texas

26 minutes ago

Weather News

Engine fuel supply cut just before Air India jet crash, report says

19 hours ago

Weather News

Texas Hill Country: Before, during and after the flood

19 hours ago

Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

16 hours ago

Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

14 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

1 day ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

1 day ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

1 day ago

Business

Samsung is looking into more AI devices potentially including earrings...

1 day ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

2 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News Viral before-and-after photos 'speak volumes' about Corn Belt farmers’ nightmare struggles in 2019
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...