Ohio State Offers Resources to Help Farmers Navigate Slow Planting Season

By Tracy Turner

Relentless rain and lingering chill have stalled the start of Ohio’s 2025 planting season, leaving many farmers scrambling to make up for lost time in fields that were too wet to work.

With corn planting at 72% as of June 2 — still trailing the five-year average of 87% — Ohio farmers are racing against time and field conditions as they make crucial decisions about the 2025 growing season.

To help navigate this difficult start, researchers and educators with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and its outreach arm, Ohio State University Extension, are stepping up efforts to provide timely, research-based guidance.

From crop selection and nutrient management to insurance options and long-term resilience strategies, CFAES specialists are working closely with producers across the state to manage both the immediate and lasting impacts of this spring’s conditions.

Aaron Wilson, climate specialist with OSU Extension and assistant professor with CFAES, said recent weather has made that support more important than ever. Persistent rainfall and unseasonably cool temperatures have compressed the planting window and forced tough decisions on timing and fieldwork.

“This May was certainly on the wet and cool side,” Wilson said. “Temperatures ran 2 to 4 degrees below normal, and many parts of the state recorded rain on 18 to 21 days — leaving farmers with just two suitable fieldwork days per week, on average.”

Compared to the catastrophic delays of 2019, when only 22% of corn was in the ground by late May, 2025 is faring better — but is still well behind. That year, relentless spring rains caused saturated fields across much of the state, preventing thousands of acres from being planted at all. Many farmers were forced to file prevented planting insurance claims, resulting in sharp financial losses and reduced feed and grain supplies.