Kentucky Farmers Battle Wettest Year on Record in 2025

By Blake Jackson

This year’s growing season in Kentucky has been one of extremes, marked by deadly storms, historic flooding, and major planting challenges. Many farmers faced significant setbacks during the critical planting period, with emotional and financial strain adding to the difficulties in the field.

By press time, Kentucky had recorded an average of 43.77 inches of rainfall for the year-15.52 inches above normal, or 155% of the usual amount-making it the wettest year on record.

Chad Lee, Director of the Grain and Forage Center of Excellence and Grain Crops Extension Professor at the University of Kentucky’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, said the season has been anything but easy.

“I think ‘challenging’ is the word that just about every farmer has used when discussing planting corn and soybeans this year, getting wheat harvested, and getting double-crop beans in,” Lee said.

By mid to late July, much of the state’s corn had reached the silking stage. “Even though we've been very warm during pollination, we've had cooler mornings, and so we're probably pretty good at pollination,” Lee explained. “And we've had adequate water over most of our fields in the state to get us into successful seed set as well.”

While adequate rainfall will still be needed to finish the crop, Lee remains cautiously optimistic, noting less sidewall compaction than typically seen in wet seasons. “If you'd have told me we had this much rain up until June and the crop looks as good as it does right now, I would've been extremely surprised and very pleased,” Lee added.

The soybean outlook is similar. “For the most part, it's the same story, just a second verse relative to corn,” Lee said, noting late-planted double-crop beans are showing strong growth thanks to warm early summer temperatures.

Wheat harvests, however, faced delays due to persistent rain. “Overall, the crop is a little bit better than we probably expected it to be,” Lee said, though some quality issues have emerged. While much of the wheat remains within spec, some fields will fall short and sell at lower prices an unwelcome hit in today’s tight agricultural economy.

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