Agricultural News
Corn Plantings Surge As Wheat Producers Continue To Assess Freeze Damage
Mon, 27 Apr 2020 16:37:43 CDT
Farmers made substantial progress in corn planting this past week as 27 percent of the crop is now in the ground in the 18 major corn states. This compares to just 7 percent last week and ahead of the 5-year average of 20 percent.
Minnesota corn farmers made the biggest leap, going from 1 percent planted last week to 40 percent this week. They were closely followed by Iowa and Illinois.
Wheat farmers are continuing to evaluate freeze damage. The photo with this story shows severely freeze-damaged plants showing split stems and enlarged nodes at Chickasha, Okla. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Amanda de Oliveira Silva, OSU Small Grains Extension Specialist.)
We may not know the full extent of the freeze damage until harvest, although many farmers are choosing to swath the wheat for hay.
Click here for the national report.
The Oklahoma wheat crop continues to rank ahead of neighboring wheat states, as it is rated 62 percent good to excellent this week, (down from 65 percent last week), 24 percent is rated fair and 14 percent is in the poor to very poor category (11 percent last week).
Corn planted in Oklahoma reached 18 percent, down 15 points from the previous year and down 22 points from normal.
Pasture and range conditions were rated at 87 percent good to fair. Livestock condition was rated at 90 percent good to fair.
Click here for the Oklahoma report.
In Kansas, winter wheat conditions are rated 40 percent good to excellent, 40 percent is rated fair and 20 percent is rated poor to very poor, all showing a slightly worsening situation in the Sunflower State.
Corn planted was 24 percent complete, near 27 percent last year, and behind the average of 31 percent.
Click here for the Kansas report.
The Texas wheat crop is rated 57 percent good to excellent this week, 30 percent fair and 13 percent poor to very poor.
Small grains in Texas continued to mature in many areas of the state. Cattle grazing continued in fields that were not going to harvest. Producers in the High and Low Plains and the Cross Timbers districts continued to assess possible damage to winter wheat fields caused by freezing temperatures.
Corn and sorghum planting was underway in the High and Low Plains districts. Corn and cotton planting continued in areas of the Blacklands while pima and upland cotton planting continued in the Trans-Pecos. Cotton planting neared completion in South Central Texas, the Upper Coast, and the Coastal Bend. Irrigated corn, cotton, and sorghum in South Texas made significant progress.
Livestock were rated in fair to good condition. Supplemental feeding continued across most of the state but slowed in many areas. Pasture and range condition was rated mostly fair to good.
To view the Texas report, click here.
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