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Planting finally underway for Indiana farmer

The wet spring has delayed planters across much of the eastern Corn Belt.  Central Indiana farmer Jon Sparks got into the field for the first time this weekend.  “The ground has been pretty slow to dry out – and I think it’s because we didn’t get much heat until this weekend,” he says.  “We’ve been waiting for the ground to dry.  We started working ground on Saturday and started planting on Sunday.  The ground is still a bit on the heavy side – but we’ve been able to make some progress.  It’s not ideal, but we’re getting corn in the ground.”

He says he’s starting to feel a little pressure from the date on the calendar.  “We’re not too long from where yields stop dropping pretty rapidly,” he says.  “But you can only do what Mother Nature lets you – so you play it by ear and get done what you can.”

He says this week’s weather forecast is also pushing them to get started.  “If we knew we were going to get 10 days of sunshine – we’d probably wait another half a day to let it air out a little more,” he says.  “

Scattered showers are in the forecast for parts of Indiana much of the next week.