Landscapers in places like Moraine, Ohio, are struggling through the effects of June rainfall amounts that are double those of the same month last year. “Right now, no one is happy because it hasn’t stopped raining for three weeks,” says Phil Liapis, owner of Liapis Landscaping and Design. He told News 2 WDTN in Dayton: “We have 42 employees and I think 10 of them are here today.
Ohio landscapers are having a hard time keeping their hourly workers employed, while farmers wonder whether their corn crops can survive the June 2015 rainfall amounts.Photo: agweb.com
All the other guys are hourly. So, that just hurts them.”
Landscaping isn’t the only industry suffering. Extensive flooding and heavy rains have affected cornfields across Ohio, leaving growers facing the possibility of lost or damaged crops.
“While above-normal rainfall is not unusual in Ohio during the spring, the amount of rainfall this year has been extraordinary,” Peter Thomison, Ohio State University Extension agronomist, told the Associated Press.
Liapis Landscaping and Design has been in business since 2001 and provides design, maintenance, construction, irrigation, stone walls, water features, entertainment areas and lighting for both commercial and residential properties. The rain is affecting their bottom line, as well as their budget.
“Seasonal work is the worst,” says Liapis. “It’s just … In the winter if we don’t have snow, you get through it, but it’s not fun to be tight on money.”
