News

Sluggish start to corn planting

Corn planting continues at a sluggish pace in Indiana.  According to USDA’s latest weekly Crop and Weather report, just 3 percent of the corn crop is planted, well behind the 5 year average of 26 percent.

Central Indiana farmer Brian Scott says they’ve only been able to plant one field so far this year.  “We planted it just to see if everything was working,” he says. “Because we knew it was going to rain quite a bit Saturday and put us out of the field for a few days.”

He says they received over an inch and a half of rain on Saturday – the most they’ve received in one rainfall since harvest.  “We’re not super soaking wet,” he says.  “Right now we are because it’s only been two days since it rained.  The ground is taking the water pretty well because it wasn’t really saturated to begin with.”

But the forecast for this week is for warmer temperatures and sunshine.  If that’s the case – Scott says they could be back in the field before the end of the week.

“Wednesday at the earliest – but I doubt it,” he says.  “It’s looking more like Thursday or Friday.  But for us it’s going to depend on which fields are ready first.”

Last week’s cool, wet weather also slowed wheat and hay growth.  Just 32 percent of the crop is jointing, 20 percent behind the 5 year average.  Sixty percent of the wheat crop is in good to excellent condition and 75 percent of range and pastures are rated good to excellent.