Corn
Crop Planting 52 Percent Complete, but Cold Snaps Concern Some NCGA
Members (5-4-05)
While the USDA
reports corn planting is 52 percent complete and emergence is already
under way in much of the nation, some members of the National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) are concerned about the effects recent
cold snaps may have on the crop that is already in the ground.
According to the report,
released May 2, at this time last year 59 percent of the crop was
planted. Emergence, at 13 percent complete, was 3 percentage points
behind last year and 1 point ahead of normal.
It’s that emerging
crop that is of concern to NCGA President Leon Corzine, who farms
in Assumption, Ill., in the central part of the state.
“We finished on
April 9, and several other farmers in the area were finished up
by the 14th. Planting conditions were near perfect,” Corzine
said. “But what we are concerned about is the frost for the
past two or three nights. Agronomists say it will be okay, but we’ll
just have to keep an eye on it.”
NCGA Biotech Working
Group member Helen Inman, who farms near Bancroft, Iowa, reported
yesterday that she expected corn planting to be completed by last
night. However, she’s keeping an eye on her fields after snow
on Sunday and three or four nights of sub-30 degree temperatures.
“The temperatures
during the daytime have been in the 40s, so there haven’t
been ideal growing conditions in our area,” she said, adding
that standing water in some fields from previous snow and rainstorms
have caused problems. Inman said planting on her farm is somewhat
behind last year’s pace. “A year ago, we were done by
the end of April,” she said.
NCGA First Vice President
Gerald Tumbleson said planting also was delayed in his area of Sherburn,
Minn. “We’re finished planting, and I’d say planting
in the area is about 90 percent complete,” he said. “We
had four inches of rain the first couple weeks in April, so that
set us back a bit.”
According to the USDA,
in a reversal from previous weeks, below-normal temperatures prevailed
across most of the nation, slowing emergence of summer crops such
as corn. Planting during the period of April 25 – May 1 progressed
rapidly in the western Corn Belt, the USDA noted, advancing 37 points
in Iowa and Minnesota. Meanwhile, Nebraska growers planted one-fourth
of their acreage during the week. Planting progress was ahead of
normal in the Corn Belt and Ohio Valley, but slightly behind normal
across much of the Great Plains. Emergence was most advanced in
Texas, at 65 percent complete, while crops in Missouri, North Carolina
and Tennessee were 45 to 48 percent emerged.