As the weather warms up, farmers have been hard at work, preparing for their major growing season.

This month's weather could dictate the year's crop yield.

Luke Fritz, executive director of the Farm Service Agency for Butler County, said that April's weather has been decent so far, but it does affect when farmers plant certain crops.

“Things are looking fine, perhaps a little dry, but that can change real quick,” he said.

As a matter of fact, the snowfall at the beginning of April may have helped add some moisture to the soil, Fritz said. But the cold temperatures could have affected fruit crops.

Fritz said the cold probably hit peach and apple trees in the area the hardest, so he is predicting a low yield of local peaches this year.

“Snow itself won't matter (at this point),” Fritz said. “It's the cold temperatures that come with it.”

Because the main field crops like corn, hay and soybeans have not yet been planted, that snow could not hurt the yields, only delay the planting time for many farmers.

Right now is when fertilizers and herbicides can be applied to the ground, which typically needs drier weather, Fritz said.

Then, planting depends on the crop and the temperatures, according to Harold Foertsch, farmer with Har-Lo Farms in Jefferson Township.

Oats are planted as soon as the weather dries, but corn is typically planted by late April or early May, Foertsch said.

Foertsch just recently planted his oats and plans to plant potatoes soon, he said.

With the warm temperatures in the second half of April, Foertsch said the weather right now is “perfect, it's ideal for April.”

His farm will be planting both soybeans and corn around May 1.

Jeff Kennedy of the dairy farm Four Seasons in Penn Township said he will plant corn around May 1 as well, as long as the weather holds out. However, his corn is typically planted around April 20.

“The ground's just not warm enough,” Kennedy said in early April, leading to the delay in planting the corn.

Kennedy grows about 125 acres of corn, 100 acres of hay and 50 acres of miscellaneous crops, which are needed to make the feed for the 80 milking and 100 non-milking cows in his herd. Four Seasons makes its own feed and hopes to have an 18-month reserve after this year's growing season, which all will depend on the yields, Kennedy said.

Since Kennedy's corn crops are used to feed his dairy cows, he cannot cut back on the acreage of corn he plants. But statewide corn acreage has been decreasing because corn prices are low.

For those who produce the corn to sell directly, the low prices are hitting farmers locally, Fritz said.

Crops like corn and soybeans have prices driven by the market in the Midwest, like in Iowa and Illinois, and right now, prices are way down.

“There's no money (in corn),” Foertsch said. “It's going to be a break-even if we're lucky. You have to bite the bullet and keep on going until (the price) gets better.”

In Kennedy's opinion, the price of corn will have to rebound eventually.

“There's got to be an upside soon,” he said. “We can't take our foot off the throttle because then we'll be behind when the prices do go up.”

Foertsch hopes for a normal year just as he does every year, he said.

For now, the company's 1,200 acres is being prepared for the growing season. Foertsch said the farm has more than 75 tons of fertilizer and has shipments of seeds already in barns.

That way his workers are ready to plant as soon as Mother Nature allows.

“When the weather breaks, we go,” he said.