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Upper Midwest farmers looking at shorter season corn

Planting delays in the Upper Midwest are forcing some farmers to consider changing maturities.

Rick Swenson is lead agronomist for Peterson Farms Seed, an independent seed company with customers in the Dakotas and Minnesota.

He tells Brownfield most farmers in their territory didn’t turn a wheel in April because of cool, wet conditions and says with each passing day there’s more talk of switching to shorter season corn.

“We are changing a little bit right now. I’ve heard of a couple (farmers) changing some stuff, but really for the most part everybody is staying with the plan until (May) 20th. And we’re encouraging everyone to stick with the 20th.”

Swenson says weather in June, July and August will make or break this crop.

“For all purposes, all of April and really the first five days of May is only equal in heat to about one week in July.”

He says the expectation of a hot, dry summer bodes well for farmers planting later than normal.

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