Let's talk crops...

We're going to take a look at some crop reports from around the region to see how things are going in the farm fields.  We've had a really wet winter and spring this year which has resulted in crops being planted late in the season.  There is good news though.  We've had several dry days which has allowed the grounds to dry out enough to get some crops planted.  (All information listed in this blog is courtesy of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service)

Corn in Wisconsin has moved at a rapid pace in the last week to 56% planted.  Even though some fields are still very wet, there have been several reports about the growth of the corn.  Some corn has already seen a 7% emergence.

In Minnesota, land preparation for corn has increased to 80% compared to 97% prepared at this time last year.  67% of the corn has been planted and 3% has already emerged.

In Iowa, all of the districts have planted over 50% of their corn acreage.  Statewide, 78% of the corn has been planted and 18% has emerged already.


The soil has also begun to dry out acrosse the tri-states.  All three states haven't fallen into any of the short or very short categories.  If any of the first two numbers in the graphic below were high, that would be very dry ground conditions.  The higher those numbers go, more of a drought scenario begins to set in.  If the surplus number was really high, that would mean the ground was way too wet to even begin planting.  Even though our adequate number is high, it's been coming down the last couple of weeks.  That's why we've seen such a rapid increase in crop planting and emergence.

I mentioned corn planting earlier, but even soybeans and oats have had a huge jump in numbers.  In Wisconsin, soybeans are 22% planted and oats are 83% planted with 42% emergence.  In Minnesota, soybeans are 25% planted and oats are 84% planted with 40% emergence.  In Iowa, soybeans are 34% planted and oats are 93% planted with 58% emergence.

We'll see how these numbers from last week compare to this week's numbers.  The report for this week will be out next Monday, and we'll discuss it next Tuesday right here on the blog.

Thanks for checking in...

Zach Brown, Daybreak Meteorologist