BARABOO, Wis. -- The recent surge of floodwaters extends far beyond city limits, leaving area farmers to struggle with how to handle land that looks more like a lake than a farm field.

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One Baraboo family is contemplating the future and how they can turn around their investment for the year, which is now drowning underwater.

This has already been a rough year for farmers as many struggled through the wet spring just to get crops in the ground, WISC-TV reported.

There were a lot of improvements that Gene Larsen and his family wanted to make to their 1,100-acre Sauk County farm this year.

"We thought this year we could finally pay off some debt and smile at the end of the fall," he said.

Instead, they got a few thousand acres of water-front property.

After 17 inches of rain, fields of corn and vegetables appear like lakes.

"Take 1,100 acres of corn at a $1,000 an acre gross revenue. You can do the math: $1.1 million," Larsen said. "We're probably going to have to spend a $100,000 buying corn to fill contracts with. We will get some insurance revenue, but it's a major kick in the pants."

The flooding will be a major blow to agriculture across the area. In Sauk County alone, it's estimated there are more than 20,000 acres of crop damage. Statewide, 22 counties have reported losses to the state Farm Service Agency.

"Some of the counties are finding some damage and others are finding millions of dollars worth of lost crops," said Ben Brancel, state executive director of the Wisconsin Farm Service Agency.

With this much water, much of it will sit idle and many farmers who forward contracted their crop won't likely meet those amounts.

"They were selling their crop and trying to reduce their risk. Now, they won't have enough crop to cover the contracts, which will actually increase the risk," he said.

All of these factors are hitting farmers where it hurts: the bottom line.

"We're in a tread-water position for another year," Larsen said. "And I think a lot of us are under the same circumstances."

Some farmers do have flood insurance, but many policies only pay for losses of more than 50 percent, WISC-TV reported.

Officials said that the state Farm Service Agency is looking into the new permanent disaster program passed by Congress in the latest farm bill. They're hoping to have answers on whether there's aid from this legislation soon.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.