As of May 3, the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports that 46 percent of the U.S. corn crop has been planted, slightly down from 48 percent at this time last year but still well ahead of the 2016–2020 average by 10 percent. This figure is pulled from the 18 states that planted 92 percent of the 2020 corn acreage. NASS also reports that 24 percent of the nation’s soybean acres are planted, up three percent from this time last year and 13 percent of the 2016–2020 average. Soybean figures are generated from the 18 states that planted 96 percent of the 2020 soybean acreage. Here’s what our sales reps are seeing in their regions to date.
RSA Brett Johnson, Region 6, southeast and east-central Iowa
We have about 80 percent of corn and 60 percent of soybeans planted in Region 6. A large percentage of acres have been planted in the last 10 days. Ground conditions were favorable, and Region 6 received as much as two inches of rain in some areas this week, which will pause progress but help with seed that has been in the ground since the middle of April. So far emergence is good for the farmers who were aggressive and planted early; however, the next 10 days are showing moderate to lower temperatures.
RSA Tony Pleggenkuhle, Region 10, northeast Iowa, south-central and southeast Minnesota
Region 10 has about 95 percent of corn and 70 percent of soybeans planted. The very early planted corn and soybeans are struggling a bit because of the cold and lack of moisture, but, fortunately, the bulk of what’s in the ground was planted in the last two weeks and after the half to three inches of rain we received over the weekend, I expect we’ll have a great start for the most part. Less than five percent of the acres have emerged at this point, but with the current weather outlook, I’d expect well over 50 percent of the crop will be out of the ground by the end of next week.
RSA Kevin Ryan, Region 14, Delta South
We’ve in very good shape in Region 14. So far, we have about 85 percent of corn planted, with a few areas in western Tennessee that are a bit farther behind because of rain. We’ve heard great things from our customers and sales reps in the field about emergence. Plants have come out of the ground faster than ever, even under cooler conditions. Soybean are probably 30 to 35 percent planted. The soybeans that were planted early are already up and out of the ground; some even have the second trifoliate out of the ground. Soybeans have really withstood the cold weather. Right now, we’re really wet and have had a lot of rain throughout the whole region, but we’ve come through it, and everything looks great.
RSA Jason Green, Region 18, southern Indiana and Illinois, western Kentucky
A lot of progress has been made with planting through the whole geography. Many customers are close to wrapping up their first planting, while most are above 50 percent completed. Emergence of soybeans and corn planted before the cold snap has been better than expected, but recent heavy rains and the 10-day outlook are worrisome for ponding and possible localized flooding.
Kevin Krabel, Region 13, southern Illinois
We’ve been going fast and furious in Region 13. We’re probably 95 percent, if not more, done with soybeans and 90–95 percent done with corn. A lot of growers are done with everything and even have spraying completed. They’re still waiting to sidedress until after the rains are done. Conditions were pretty much perfect the entire month of April. We were a little concerned about the potential freeze that came through a few weeks ago with a little snow, but I don’t think it was cold long enough, and I think the snow insulated some of the seed to keep it from freezing. Emergence wasn’t hurt. We also haven’t had a ton of replant needs coming our way. We’re crossing our fingers, but this could be a pretty easy planting season, and the long-range forecast looks good. There’s some rain coming, but I don’t think it will flood or pond anything.
RSA Derek Dreier, Region 24, Wisconsin
Planting across Wisconsin is well ahead of the five-year average, with corn at 27 percent and soybeans at 16 percent planted. Most of the state received some much-needed rain as we started the month of May. This, along with cooler temperatures, is giving us a little break in the action. A few fields of early-planted soybeans have now started to emerge. Even with the overnight lows forecasted to be near 32 degrees in certain areas, we are optimistic that these beans should make it through unscathed. Happy planting season!
Tony Lenz, corn technical agronomist
We’re getting a lot of questions about soil being too dry and whether or not we’re OK to plant soybeans in areas of Nebraska, Iowa, southern Minnesota and the Dakotas. What I’ve been telling growers is that you still have optimal yield potential for soybeans if you want to hold off a week on planting. If you do decide to plant into the dry soils, you can go a little (not much) deeper, so around the 1.5-inch mark. Don’t chase moisture by planting below the two-inch mark. Also, make sure you’re paying attention to the long-range forecast. If you decide to plant into dry soil and go a little deeper and you end up getting a pounding rain, you may risk the furrows sealing back up and crusting, which could hurt emergence. Soybeans also need to take in 50 percent of their weight in moisture to start the germination process, so a good amount of rainfall is still necessary in these very dry soil areas to get adequate emergence.