Here in Eastern, NE we have 4-6 feet snow drifts in our ditches along roads and 2-4 inches of snow in the bottoms of our rolling hills in our soon to be corn fields. 111-113 day corn will not get put in on time and guys are worried yield will be reduced, for sure. Not to mention we don’t have any of the high priced fertilizers on yet. Ground is froze every mourning this week. With cool wet weather forcasted this weekend we are in for another delay in heat unit accumilation.

Jim

Good timing on your discussion of the impact of weather on planting schedules. We certainly always hear plenty of chatter about delayed plantings at this time of year, and it is guaranteed we’ll get more and more of it over the coming weeks. However, it’s important to remember that despite the slow starting pace of a year ago – as well as the devastating flooding seen in Iowa – the average corn yield of the US in 2008 was close to an historic high when all was said and done.

So, while we’re going to get a lot of chatter about how the cold, wet conditions will likely derail early planting intentions of corn, no one will be able to get a truly solid handle on exactly how many acres will be planted – and how the crops will fare – until very late into the season. Until then, our recommendation is to not get too caught up in talk of abandoned acres, and instead expect the American farmer to find a way to get the job done, as he always does.

Thanks, Gavin from Ehedger.com