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| Corn planting continues at a record pace. According to USDA, 63 percent of the nation’s corn crop is in the ground and 18 percent has already emerged. |
NCGA
Members Take Advantage of Favorable Planting Conditions (5-4-04)
Despite a recent
cold snap across much of the Midwest, corn planting continues at
a record
pace, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
(USDA) May 3 crop progress report. Moderate freezes earlier this
week affected emerged corn in some areas, but National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) members across the Corn Belt say weather and soil
conditions have otherwise been favorable.
USDA says 63
percent of this year’s corn crop was already
in the ground by May 2, up from 47 percent at the same time last
year and well ahead of the five-year average of 40 percent.
David Ward, who
farms near Mapleton, Minn., said growers in south-central Minnesota
finished
planting corn earlier than usual this year. Statewide,
71 percent of corn acreage has already been planted, up from 64 percent
at the same time last year. Minnesota’s five-year average for
May 2 corn plantings is 46 percent.
“All the corn in this area is planted, which puts us about
a week to 10 days ahead,” Ward said. “I’m done
with corn and about halfway finished with beans. The ground conditions
have been excellent and surface moisture has been adequate. Now all
we need is a little rain this weekend.”
Ward may get
his wish, as USDA’s weather forecast is calling
for warmer air and scattered showers across much of the Corn Belt
later this week. “By the end of this week, I would suspect
just about everything in Minnesota is going to be in the ground,” he
said. “Things are really going well.”
Planting in Illinois
is also expected to wrap up this week, according to USDA. By May
2,
82 percent of the state’s corn crop had
already been planted, up from 62 percent last year. The state’s
five-year average is 47 percent.
“We’re well ahead of schedule and conditions have been
just right so far,” said McLean, Ill., grower Ron Fitchhorn
last week.
Producers in
the northwestern reaches of the Corn Belt are also ahead of schedule.
Bart Schott,
who farms near Kulm, N.D., said he
began planting early this week. He said farmers in the far eastern
part of the state started planting last week. USDA reports 48 percent
of the state’s corn crop is already planted, up from 40 percent
a year ago.
“We’re just getting started,” he said. “It’s
kind of early for us, but soil conditions are adequate. We’re
looking at another cool spring here this year, so we held off a little
bit, but we’re still going to be about five to seven days ahead
of normal.”
North Dakota
growers are planting more corn than usual this year, Schott said,
because of
corn prices and other commodity prices relative
to corn. “It’s looking like we’re going to have
record corn acreage again this year,” he said. “We’re
seeing a shift away from wheat and it looks like corn is the big
winner up here this year.”
Of the top 18
corn-producing states, only three -- Colorado, Ohio and Wisconsin
-- are behind
last year’s planting pace. According
to USDA, none of those 18 states had finished planting by May 2,
though Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas were
all more than 80 percent complete.
In southern states like North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, more
than half of the corn planted has already emerged. Nationwide, 18
percent of the corn crop had emerged by May 2, USDA reports.