Weather Freezes Early Planting Progress; Forecast Dicey

BY DAN GRANT, FARM WEEK NOW

There’ll be no early start to the planting season this year in Illinois.

Cold, wet conditions that froze planters in their tracks to start the month could continue in the weeks ahead.

After a dry start to winter, February and March were the fourth-wettest on record, with an average of 8.69 inches of precipitation (including rainfall and water content of snow), according to Jim Angel, state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey.

Meanwhile, the temperature in March averaged just 38.7 degrees, 2.6 degrees below normal.

And to add insult to injury, large portions of the state were smacked with sizable snow and ice storms on consecutive weekends, with more snow in the forecast in parts of the state.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois field office reported no corn planting as of the first of last week, although there was a confirmed report of planting near Pleasant Hill (Pike County) in late March.

“We’d feel better if some of the crop was in the ground. But with conditions right now, I’m not upset we don’t have any,” said Dennis Bowman, University of Illinois Extension crop systems educator. “Unfortunately, the weather is not looking good in the near-term forecast.”

Record lows were recorded around Illinois between April 1-2, including minus-1 degree in Lincoln, 14 degrees in Peoria and 16 degrees in Springfield. The lowest reading in the state was in Paxton (minus-2) Easter weekend, while the highest snowfall total was 9 inches in Augusta (Hancock County).

The highest snowfall in the state the previous weekend (March 24-25) was 11.4 inches in Eureka (Woodford County).

“So, what’s the outlook for April?” Angel said. “More of the same – an increased chance of below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation for Illinois and the Midwest.”

Many farmers could understandably start to feel anxious about fieldwork delays, but Bowman noted it’s too early to push the panic button.

“It’s too early to get too worried about it,” he said. “Last year, we didn’t get off to a fast start either (just 6 percent of corn was planted as of April 17, 2017) and it turned out just fine (with a record corn yield).”

It remains to be seen if any additional delays affect the planting mix. USDA last month estimated farmers will plant more soybeans (89 million acres) than corn (88 million acres) for the first time in nearly four decades.

“We like to get some early planting done so we can switch to soybeans, or plant more soybeans early,” Bowman added. “It (the delayed start to the season) is really going to stack things up on us and could cause problems.”