VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41's Grant Stephens
It's hard to escape high temperatures in a heat wave, particularly for those who work outside.
Farmers throughout the area are navigating extreme weather every day to keep food supplies in check for the rest of us.
The heat can be brutal on man, machine, cattle and crops.
"It's just a difficult time for farmers to work," said Jay Armstrong, with Armstrong Farms in western Atchison County.
No matter how brutal mother nature can be, she waits for no one.
"We're preparing for harvest and you know that means all the equipment you need for harvest needs to be gone through and prepared," he said. "It's just hard to keep motivated, but you have to push yourself to keep working."
In this weather, machines overheat and require extra maintenance.
Humid heat is particularly tough on farmers and livestock, but the crops can handle it.
It's the dry heat Armstrong is worried about. He says so long as there is moisture, crops like beans will continue growing.
He's worried an extended period of hot and dry weather could result in a lower yield.
"If I could get oh a one-inch rain between now and two weeks you know, we'll all be smiling as farmers," he said.
—
