FORT GIBSON, Okla. — Garland Phillips lost hundreds of acres of crops to flooding in May, then again in early June, and a third time last week.
"We didn't move everything because we didn't think it would get that big. I thought it would never get bigger than '43. And it did," he said.
The USDA deadline for planting soybeans is June 30th. Farmers across Fort Gibson spent hours planting this "hail Mary" crop to earn a profit.
"The insurance will take care of about what it costs just to plant that wheat up here and fertilize it. When you sign up for insurance they never pay you enough to do everything. They just pay you to keep you from going broke," Phillips said.
Farmers are still trying to make up the loss from May, including $10,000 pieces of equipment. They're hopeful this crop will be enough to carry them until next year.
"We lost all of our wheat production, all of our corn production. As farmers, those are paychecks. We lost our first two paychecks. This is our last shot at a paycheck for 2019," Darren Perry said.
It's Perry's first year as a commercial farmer. He estimates more than a million dollars lost this season.
"It is not what I envisioned. I love it, I love farming, I love everything about it. But this is not the plan I had. It's been a very tough first year out of the box," Perry said.
The farmers are still worried about an early frost, but tell us that won't stop them from trying this summer.
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