PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — An Ozaukee County farmer said he is already seeing the impact of a statewide drought on his farm.

As Brian Karrels stood in his corn fields at Lake Breeze Farms in Port Washington, he assessed his crop. He said the farm has only seen about 3 inches of rain for the month of July. That’s compared to 13 inches of rain in the previous year.

“The girth of the cob will be smaller and now this part of the year is when the length is going to be put on there, so these timely rains now will help put on more kernels but we’re definitely taking a reduction in production,” said Karrels.

In addition to corn, the farm also grows 300 acres of winter wheat and 750 acres of soybeans. He said his soybean crop is also underperforming but may have a chance to recover despite the recent lack of rain.

“Beans have always been said to be made in August,” said Karrels. “The month of August we need timely rain, that’s what we really need. If it gets dry in August, then these beans will not be good.”

While the Port Washington area did get almost an inch of rain in the last week of July, Karrels said the soil was already drying up.

His corn crop will be harvested in a few months. Karrels said what makes him more hopeful is that corn is designed to absorb water from mornings with heavy dew. He said it helps the corn crop make up for the lack of rain.

“We are going to have a below average crop,” said Karrels. “I would think with the way it looks right now and I think we are going to have 180 bushels of corn. Hopefully, they will have that. The last couple of years we have been around 200 bushels average across our farm.”

He said only time will tell how well his crop will perform this fall. Karrels said he hopes the rain comes soon so he can continue to provide crops for his community.