Mascoutah, IL (KSDK) - A few storms rolled through Wednesday night, and more rain may be ahead, but we just can't seem to shake this drought.

All of the St. Louis area is in an extreme drought, and NewsChannel 5's Cindy Preszler with some farmers who are feeling it the most.

The Pioneer Seed Company invited us and about 150 of their closest farmer friends to their new research facility just outside Mascoutah, Illinois.

They know the drought is not over.

The USDA says about 28 percent of Illinois' soybean crop is in very poor shape. Corn is even worse with 42 percent rated very poor.

The good news is farmers we talked to are hanging in there, like Mark Hoffmann of Waterloo.

Farming isn't his only source of income, but he feels for those who put all they have into it.

"When you take everything you have one year and invest it into the next year and you don't get a return back out of that, it can be devastating," said Hoffman.

The farmers say most do have crop insurance to help soften the blow, but not everybody. It's not cheap. The Illinois Farm Bureau says a farmer with 1,000 acres or more can expect to spend about $25,000 on crop insurance premiums.

 

KSDK