Only 10 percent of the crop has emerged compared to 25 percent last year at this time
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
This year’s U.S. corn crop isn’t progressing as quickly as last year’s crop.
Only 10 percent of the national corn acres have emerged, the USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin said on May 14. That number is down from 25 percent last year.
But Michigan, North Dakota and South Dakota are the only three of 18 documented states to report no corn emergence.
The weather is the main reason for the delays, said Brian McKenzie, a cash crop producer from Cassopolis, Mich.
“I’ve been mushroom hunting. That should give you an idea of how wet it is,” he told Farms.com. “We’ve only got maybe 100 acres of corn planted and we have maybe 4,000 more to go. It just keeps raining and, when you combine that with low market prices and a delayed planting season, it’s tough sledding for some farmers right now.”
About 71 percent of North Carolina’s corn is emerged, which is the highest percentage in the country, the USDA said.
The U.S. soybean crop is also behind schedule.
Farmers have planted about 9 percent of the national soybean acres, the USDA said. That figure is down from 32 percent last year.
And though the USDA hasn’t reported soybean emergence, some beans are up, said Jeff Tyson, a soybean grower from Nashville, N.C.
“Some of the beans we planted early are up and seem to be growing,” he told Farms.com. “We seem to be running into a bit of a hot and dry spell now, so we could use a little bit of rain to help the beans along.”
The U.S. spring wheat crop continues to progress.
Growers have seeded about 45 percent of the American spring wheat acreage, the USDA reported. That number is down from 54 percent last year.
Of the six documented states, farmers in Idaho and Washington have planted 81 percent of their respective spring wheat acres. Those states are the furthest along in the country.