About 2 percent of the corn crop is planted, the USDA says
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
U.S. grain farmers have started to plant the 2021 corn crop.
About 2 percent of this year’s corn crop is in the ground, the USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin said on April 6. That figure is on par with where U.S. farmers were last year and the five-year average.
Farmers in Texas have planted the most corn thus far.
Growers in the state have seeded 55 percent of their corn acres, the USDA’s report says.
Only farmers in four other states have reported any corn planting.
Growers in Tennessee, North Carolina and Missouri have each planted 1 percent of their corn crops while farmers in Kansas have seeded 2 percent of their state’s corn acres.
American farmers are also planting spring wheat.
About 3 percent of the 2021 spring wheat crop is in the ground, the USDA says. That number is on par with last year’s progress at this time and one percentage point higher than the five-year average.
Growers in Idaho have planted the most spring wheat as of this week.
Farmers in that state have seeded 16 percent of their spring wheat acres. This represents a 5 percent decrease from how much Idaho farmers planted at this time last year.
Producers in Washington State have planted 14 percent of their spring wheat, followed by South Dakota farmers with 11 percent of their spring wheat seeded.
Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota are reporting 1 percent of their spring what seeded each. These are the lowest numbers among the six surveyed states.
The U.S winter wheat crop is starting to head.
About 4 percent of the crop has headed, the USDA’s report says. That figure is one percentage point above last year’s mark and the five-year average.
29 percent of the winter wheat in Texas is headed, the most of the 18 documented states. About 4 percent of the crop in North Carolina and 5 percent of the winter wheat in Arkansas has headed.
The USDA will release the next Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin on April 13.