With the impending snowstorm in the upper Midwest and Northern Plains, it may seem like the 2023 planting season will be off to a slow start. However, in states like Illinois and Missouri, planting is just getting started, and in drier areas of Kansas, planting is even wrapped up in some cases.
USDA released its first Crop Progress report of the season on Monday. The report shows as of Sunday, April 2, 2% of the country’s corn crop was planted. That’s right on par with both the five-year average and last year’s pace.
Texas is ahead of average, with 57% of the crop in the ground, which is 3 percentage points above both the five-year average and this time last year.
A roll call of planting progress on the U.S. Farm Report Facebook page showed the weather extremes creating issues for farmers this year. However, it also showed farmers in parts of the Midwest started to plant this week, while others farther south have already wrapped up with planting this year.
Hunter Heath says corn is already nearly 6 inches tall in his area of Texas, with wheat starting to head out. His biggest issue with planting is the same problem he sees year after year: wild hogs digging up corn seed. He posted a picture of the damage.
Steve Clark farms in northern Oklahoma. With exceptional drought conditions in his area, he says farming this year is “not fun.” Clark was trying to hold off planting until he saw some rain, but he said he couldn’t wait any longer and feared he would lose the little moisture he does have in the soil. Clark says they’ve planted 80 acres so far.
Chock Scammon says some farmers in his area of southeast Kansas are already finished planting. He says this area is dry and could use a rain, but most fields planted fields have been in great condition for planting this year.
Kylee Geffert is also in southeast Kansas, and says their operation is halfway done planting corn already.
Central Missouri farmers are doing spring field prep work, as well as getting started on planting this year. JJ Green is near Higginsville, Mo., and says planters are starting to roll, but with the narrow windows from Mother Nature this year, it’s all hands on deck. So, spring field work and spring planting is happening all at once.
Micky Wyatt is near Green in Johnson County, Mo. He says they started planting on Sunday. And to the south in southwest Missouri, Bryan Robertson is planting corn. He says they’ve had some showers, and those rains have been just enough to help the moisture situation in his area. However, the ponds are still low and they’ll need moisture soon.
Jonathan Bottoms is in southeast Arkansas. He says they’re 20% planted, but with rains this week, they’ll be out of the field for several days. He says their operation is about 8% ahead of their normal planting pace.
In Pickens, Miss., it’s been too wet to plant. Terry Wynne says the corn in his area needs to be planted by mid-April, otherwise it gets too hot and dry by early summer, and corn takes a big hit on yield.
In west central Illinois, farmers are also doing field prep and planting. Matt Bangert says they’re working ground until the rain this week, then hope to start planting soybeans.
Too Much Moisture to the North
The other extreme is haunting farmers farther north. Brandon Garaas is in northwest North Dakota. With snow covering the ground, along with more snow on the way, he says it’ll be early May before they can get in the field.
Amber Himmelspach is in North Dakota and the picture she shared on Facebook shows just how deep the snowpack is in her area. She hopes they’ll be able to get into the fields next month after the snow melts, but at this point, she jokingly said it looks like planting won’t happen until August.
Bryan Anderson farms in Webster, S.D. He says more than 24 inches of snow is on the ground already, with another 12 to 15 inches on the way this week. He’s hoping to be in the fields around May 10.
Brian Kuipers is in central North Dakota where they already have as much as 3 to 4 feet of snow on the ground, and another 20 inches is forecast this week. At this point, he’s hoping to be planting by mid-May.
Darwin Hall is in southwest Minnesota. He says they need a lot of cooperation from Mother Nature to plant much corn before May 1.
When could farmers in the Upper Midwest start to see some relief? Watch the latest AgDay forecast.
