USDA: Farmers making big planting strides

This spring’s roller coaster ride of corn and soybean planting took a huge step toward completion over the last week, as farmers made major progress getting their corn and soybeans in the ground, according to Tuesday’s USDA-NASS Crop Progress report.

U.S. farmers made a 21% gain planting soybeans over the last 7 days, up to 74%. Though that’s still 1% off the previous average, farmers in many large soybean-growing states made some of the largest strides. In Missouri, 48% of the crop was in the ground as of Sunday, compared to 22% a week ago and, in Illinois, 73% of the beans are sown compared to 47% a week ago.

After starting off on a brisk pace, corn planting was slowed by moisture through much of May. But, the last week of the month treated farmers better, allowing many to see the finish line. Farmers in all 18 of the major corn-growing states saw progress advance into the 90s, with those in Minnesota and North Carolina finished planting. Emergence is ahead of the normal pace thus far, with 85% of the crop poked through compared to the 80% previous 5-year average. Soybean emergence, at 46%, is just ahead of the normal clip.

But, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. There’s a lot more variability in planting progress than what USDA reported Tuesday, farmers say. “Crop conditions vary a lot around here as well. Some of us were able to get corn in around the 20th of April and that corn looks good for the most part. Corn that was planted after the rains started setting in seem a little stunted,” says Agriculture.com Marketing Talk member BKsandFarmer. “I was hoping it would stay dry another day so I could replant some bean acres flooded out a couple weeks ago, but it’s raining now. If the weather pattern stays the same, it may be a challenge to spray this year. Like most guys, I won’t curse the rain just yet.”

Replanting soybeans is also on Marketing Talk member jdmcfarm1’s schedule after he had 600 acres get nipped by frost and flooded out. “Unless they were planted way too early, the cold and wet of early May destroyed them here,” he says.