Des Moines Register
05-03-06
Rains fail to derail planting
Iowa's soil absorbed the moisture well and farmers are ahead of last year's pace
with corn.
By ANNE FITZGERALD
REGISTER AGRIBUSINESS WRITER
Widespread rainfall last weekend forced farmers from fields in much of the
western Corn Belt, but spring planting likely will resume later this week in Iowa,
agronomists and farmers said Tuesday.
"I would assume that by late Thursday people are going to start running again
and are probably going to hit it hard," said Palle Pederson, an agronomist with
Iowa State University Extension in Ames.
Generally, 1 to 3 inches of rain fell across Iowa from Friday through Sunday,
state climatologist Harry Hillaker said.
"Virtually everybody had at least an inch," he said.
Because soil moisture levels throughout the state still had room for
replenishment and because the rain fell slowly on several days, soils were better
able to absorb the precipitation, Hillaker said. That will hasten farmers' return to
their fields, he and others said.
Before the weekend rains, U.S. farmers had made significant progress on corn
plantings. By Sunday, 52 percent of the nation's corn acreage had been planted,
up from 25 percent the previous week and ahead of last year's pace of 49
percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.
In Iowa, early plantings got off to a slower start this year compared with last, but
farmers picked up the pace last week. As of April 30, Iowa growers had planted
63 percent of their expected corn acres, compared with 26 percent the previous
week and 3 percent the week before that.
Iowa corn planting was 49 percent complete by April 30 a year ago and 42
percent complete by then, on average, during the past five years.
By the end of last week, corn had begun to emerge throughout the Midwest,
except in the Dakotas and Wisconsin, the Agriculture Department report showed.
In Iowa, corn emergence of 5 percent by Sunday was the same as that point a
year ago and slightly ahead of the five-year average.
Soybean plantings had just begun ahead of last weekend's rains. Nationally, 10
percent of soybean acreage had been planted by Sunday, compared with 8
percent by that point a year ago. The five-year average was 7 percent.
Iowa soybean plantings were 6 percent complete by Sunday, compared with 3
percent by that point a year ago and a five-year average of 3 percent.
After an unusually mild January, when the statewide average temperature tied
the record set in 1933, Iowa had about normal temperatures in February and
March. A mild April has followed, Hillaker said. Rainfall statewide is running
ahead of normal so far this year, he said. The northern third and eastern third of
Iowa are the wettest regions.
Concerns about widespread drought this year are fading, because La Nina, an
atmospheric condition over the tropical Pacific Ocean, is diminishing faster than
had been expected. Drought persists, however, south and southwest of Iowa.
"That's still a bit worrisome to see drought not too far away," Hillaker said.