Spring planting brings mix of drought anxiety and optimism about higher prices
May 14—WEST
Rain was forecast for the weekend, and the 31-year-old farmer was driving a tractor nearly twice her age, soybeans filling the grain drill. Already she and her dad had finished planting corn, and now she was working the soybean fields.
Altogether the family farms 450 acres — this year split evenly between corn and soybeans. She did not finish the field she was working. Temperatures were cooling, and the anticipated rain would be cold.
"We just wanted the warmer temperatures," she said.
About 90 miles northeast,
"We worked 11 days straight. We got almost the entire crop in," Ryan said, adding that it was the longest string of consecutive days of planting in his 14-year farming career.
Farmers always are watching the forecast to figure out when to plant, but this year drought conditions gripping much of the state have raised anxiety levels. At the same time, corn and soybean prices are higher than they've been for a while and farmers see the potential for 2021 to be a good year — if they get rain when they need it.
Planting ahead of schedule
As of last Monday, 86 percent of
"The early planting may not result in drastically earlier emergence and growth," said
Farmers generally want to get their seeds in the ground by mid-May to allow a long enough growing season to get full yield, he said.
"We've been going for quite a while," he said.
Adjusting for the drought
The amount of moisture in the soil is critical to seed germination and more than half of
More than half of
"Our water table is roughly 2 feet deeper than it normally is at the time of planting," Licht said. If the state gets timely rain, the crops may grow deeper roots to get to the water table — which is good — but if the soil remains dry, the roots may not grow as deep as they should.
Farmers buy seed the previous fall, so it's too late to switch to drought-tolerant varieties, Licht said. But they can adjust planting depth — sowing the seeds 3 inches down instead of 2 to find moist soil that will help with germination.
Ryan said they were fortunate in
"We felt pretty confident going into this spring, where we are," he said.
Crop prices bring optimism, spending
The price for last year's stored soybeans is as high as
The surge is prompted by fears of a shortage because of dry conditions in the Midwest and in
The
"Overall, globally we're up 70 percent,"
The eight-year high in commodity prices has caused
Derecho fallout
The
Of Farm Business Network members in
Kimberley, whose family farms in
"It's like a weed and competes for nutrients," he said. "It's easier to control volunteer corn in soybean fields the next year. Sometimes farmers will have to grow more soybeans so there will be more acres (of soybeans) planted where the derecho was the strongest."
Photos of crumpled steel grain bins showed the impact of 100-mph winds on empty bins. Farmers have replaced some of the tens of millions of bushels of grain storage lost in the storm, but COVID-19 slowed the supply chain for materials and labor also is scarce, Kimberley said.
On the bright side, most grain bins are covered by insurance,
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