Fallout from heavy rains and flooding that truncated the planting season for many Michigan farmers this year will likely be felt throughout the state for years to come, agricultural industry leaders said Tuesday.

During a joint hearing of the Michigan House and Senate Agriculture committees at Michigan State University in East Lansing, state and federal officials, experts and farmers said Michigan farmers were among the hardest hit in the country by extreme weather conditions this growing season.

A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency found producers were unable to plant crops on 19.4 million acres nationwide in 2019, with more than 73 percent of those acres coming from Michigan and 11 other Midwestern states hit the hardest by heavy rains and flooding conditions.

That’s the most unplanted acres reported since the officials began tracking the data in 2007, said Joel Johnson, Michigan state director of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

More than 880,000 prevented planting acres have been reported in Michigan, most of which would have been corn or soybean crops. That’s about 17.3 percent of the state’s overall acres that went unplanted this year, compared to the national average of about 7 percent, Johnson said.

Combined with perennial concerns such as federal trade disputes, economic challenges and the likelihood of more bad weather events in the future, Michigan farmers say the poor planting season adds yet another layer of pressure.

“With the rain that we have had this year, approximately two-thirds of my operation is not planted,” said Doug Darling, a Monroe County farmer.

Darling said the economic impact of his inability to plant most of his crops spreads to the people he would typically purchase equipment, seeds or fertilizer from, as well as the retailers and consumers who will have a harder time purchasing products.

And the growing season’s still not over.

Many of those who testified said Michigan farmers still aren’t out of danger yet - a cool fall could further jeopardize crops that were planted late or in less than ideal conditions before they’re harvested.

“No matter where you live in Michigan, we’re all in this together,” said Gary McDowell, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Let’s hope for a late frost this year.”

Michigan farmers have been offered some relief from state and federal officials. Legislation sponsored by Republican Rep. Mark Huizenga of Walker and signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer funneled $15 million to the Qualified Agricultural Loan Program, a program providing low-interest loans run by private lenders for farmers whose crops have been delayed or damaged by the heavy rainfall.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also offered the option for Michigan farmers to plant cover crops and use land for livestock grazing, hay or other purposes earlier than usual this year and still be eligible for crop insurance.

Whitmer has also requested a USDA Secretarial Disaster Designation for the state, which could make Michigan farmers eligible for federal money related to agricultural disaster assistance due to flooding.

Rep. Julie Alexander, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, said there isn’t one solution that will fix every issue farmers are facing, but said she called the joint session to hear directly from farmers about what the challenges are.

“It’s not over for the farmers - it’s just starting for the farmers,” she said. “Today, to me, it provided a foundation for what we’re going to need to address. We need to be listening.”