(25 Aug 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paw Paw, Michigan – 18 August 2025
1. Wide of Robb Rynd walking through cornfield
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
2.SOUNDBITE (English) Robb Rynd, farmer:
"This year, it’s hard to get excited to get out there and look at the corn because it’s not a great crop. It’s constantly hot all the time. It’s hot during the day, hot during night, the corn’s never getting a break. The corn is growing faster than what the ear really wants to grow. And so the pollen, it’s not getting to the silks like it’s supposed to be.”
3. Various of affected corn ear
4. Various aerial of affected corn field
5. Various of affected corn tassels
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nottawa, Michigan – 18 August 2025
6. Wide of Nicolle Ritchie inspecting corn in field UPSOUND (English) “Yeah, there’s another one.”
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paw Paw, Michigan – 18 August 2025
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Nicolle Ritchie, Michigan State University Extension agent:
"Very simply, no pollination, no corn. We’ve had also very hot weather and heat is going to speed up crop growth. If it’s really dry, those silks that are on the ear, they’re counting on moisture to be able to keep growing. And if we don’t have adequate moisture that can really set them back or it can also just make it so that the pollen isn’t able to reach and fully fertilize them. And you’ll have fully developed kernels and then you’ll pockets of just a little empty white hole.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nottawa, Michigan – 18 August 2025
8. Detail of Nicolle Ritchie taking a picture of affected corn cob
9. Detail of Nicolle Ritchie removing part of husk for inspection
10. Cutaway of corn tassel
11. Wide of Nicolle Ritchie inspecting corn field
12. Medium of affected corn
13. Detail and pan down of affected corn
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paw Paw, Michigan – 18 August 2025
14. Wide aerial of affected corn field
++COVERED++
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Robb Rynd, farmer:
"Me being a new grower, I didn’t think a lot of it. I was like, oh, this is going to be great, good hot temps, it’s going to make this corn take right off. But I think what we didn’t think about was the effects that it was going to have on some of the things like pollination.”
16. Various of Robb Rynd inspecting corn plants in his field
STORYLINE:
Across several states, climate change is fueling conditions that make watching the corn grow a nail-biter for farmers. Factors like consistently high summer overnight temperatures and heavier-than-usual rains at the wrong time can all disrupt the plants’ pollination — making each full ear of corn less of a guarantee and more of a gamble.
Overall, corn growers got lucky this year with some late-season weather that contributed to what is now predicted to be a record bumper crop. But for farmers and experts alike, climate change is intensifying the waiting game during a critical time of year between planting and harvest.
Robb Rynd and his brother grew up farming and wanted to do more of it outside their day jobs, so they went in together on a little over 200 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum. Last year was a good year, and Rynd said he enjoyed walking the fields with his kids to see how the corn was doing. This year, some of his crop has shown signs of pollination issues, including smaller cobs and patchy kernels.
Overall, corn growers got lucky this year with late-season weather that contributed to what is now predicted to be a record bumper crop. But experts say bouts of extreme weather are intensifying the waiting game during a critical time of year between planting and harvest.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f443e0c0bb354dab9d216d8c1d970aa6
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in August 30, 2025, 3:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
