Soybean planting begins in the U.S.

Apr 24, 2019

Farmers in Louisiana and Mississippi are the furthest along, the USDA says

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

U.S. farmers are starting to seed the 2019 soybean crop.

Growers have planted 1 percent of the total U.S. soybean acres, the USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin said on April 23. That number is down one percent from last year.

On a state level, producers in Louisiana and Mississippi are the furthest along.

Farmers in those states have planted 16 percent of their soybean acres. That progress is down from 28 percent in Mississippi and 25 percent in Louisiana last year.

Wet field conditions are the main reason for the delay, said Raymond Schexnayder, a producer from Ventress, La.

“We’re behind. We’re only about 5 percent done (planting) on our farm,” he told Farms.com. “Everything is wet and that’s pretty much the biggest hold up at this point. We got four inches of rain last Thursday and it looks like we’re in for three more tomorrow.”

Weather is also delaying James Robertson, a producer from Indianola, Miss.

“The ground is just starting to dry so we’re just about to get started,” he told Farms.com. “I’m in the planter now wanting to get some planting done before it rains tomorrow.”

U.S. corn planting continues.

Farmers have planted about 6 percent of the U.S. corn crop, the USDA’s report says. That figure is up slightly from 5 percent last year.

Texas farmers have planted 59 percent of their corn, which is the highest figure among the 18 documented states.

Producers in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and South Dakota haven’t planted any corn yet, the USDA says.

Spring wheat planting is also progressing.

Growers have planted about 5 percent of the 2019 spring wheat crop. That number is up 2 percent from last week.

Producers in Idaho are the furthest along. They’ve planted 40 percent of the state’s spring wheat, which represents the most progress among the six documented states.

Farmers in Minnesota and North Dakota haven’t seeded any spring wheat yet, the USDA says.

United Soybean Board photo

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