GOSHEN -- It's been a cool, cool summer, and that's done interesting things to local agriculture:

* The vegetables are in pretty good shape, though home gardeners may be more at risk for fungal diseases on their plants.

* The apple trees are poised to produce a bumper crop, though a nationwide glut of apples may mean low prices for consumers. The weather also makes for better-tasting fruit.

* The sweet corn is coming along slower than normal, but the quality is good.

* Corn and soybean farmers, though, got a late start and may race against the clock at the end of the season, hoping an early frost doesn't damage crops. They may get excellent yields, but prices likely won't be so great.

WEATHER

The summer got off to a cool, wet start. "The summer months of June and July have been well below normal for average temperatures," according to the National Weather Service office in North Webster's climate report. June had above-normal rain and cool temperatures. July was "the coldest July on record in the South Bend Area," since records began in 1893. After a warmer couple of weeks, temperatures are expected to cool a few degrees again in the middle of next week.

VEGETABLES

Kevin Bullard of Bullard Farms Market in Elkhart said the weather slowed things down and also made for a lack of consistency in vegetables. "As far as produce in general, it's made everything 10 days to two weeks behind," he said.

Some plants have ripe vegetables and neighboring plants don't, which is unusual, he said. "The plants that did get germinated in May, it's real uneven. Some of them grew better than others and the stands aren't real consistent in terms of timing," he said.

For instance, "Tomatoes, they usually would walk 50 feet and get 50 tomatoes. Now they're walking 50 feet, getting only 35, leaving a lot of green ones there."

Maureen Kercher of Kercher's Sunrise Orchards in Goshen said looking ahead, "The pumpkins are doing very well. Some people are having trouble with powdery mildew on things, that's just a matter of staying on top of sprays ... a big farmer like us, we stay on top of that."

FRUIT

"Apples like it a little bit cooler. We're very happy," Kercher said. "The cooler nights will help put color on the apples. We shouldn't have a problem. We could use a little more rain, but generally it's going pretty well," Kercher said.

"As a whole there's a bumper crop of apples across the United States this fall, which will probably drive down prices, which is good for people," she said. "They'll see more variety, more specials. It'll be harder for producers to move the apples," she said.

Bullard said the weather actually made for more flavorful fruits. "It's cool so the fruit is just sitting there sizing up slowly. The dry weather is making the blueberries and peaches and stone fruit (peaches, plums, cherries) full of flavor. Quality-wise, I think your fruit is just excellent quality," he said.

SWEET CORN

Despite slower growth due to cool weather, Kercher's sweet corn crop has left the business happy with the quality, Kercher said.

"We picked our first corn in mid-July. That's pretty much normal for us. We finish picking into the middle of October.

"We really don't want it to frost, because once it frosts, the sweet corn is done," she said.

Bullard said, "If we happen to get an early frost, that will really affect the bottom line. There'll be a lot of corn that would get killed by the frost. If we get a mid-September frost, that would be devastating."

FIELD CORN AND BEANS

Elkhart County is in decent shape in terms of moisture, though irrigation systems in farm fields have been running to keep the ground moist as crops develop.

The bigger concern right now is the approach of fall. Many farmers got a late start planting due to the wet weather in late spring, and Indiana crops are developing about two weeks behind average, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Now they're hoping crops will miss any freeze damage.

The average first freeze is Oct. 18 in this area, according to the National Weather Service, but then again, the average summer is quite a bit warmer.

"With everything already being planted and established, there's really no turning back," said Ericka Soumare, agricultural educator with the Purdue Extension office in Goshen. Cool weather can cause root problems, especially for corn, and it's also raised the risk of some crop diseases and some pests.

The good news is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects a bumper corn crop this year, with the second-highest yield on record expected from American corn and soybean yields expected to be in the top-five ever. Of course, that can lead to lower prices, offsetting the yield gains for area farmers.