American producers have planted 3 per cent of the total corn crop
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Planters are rolling through fields as the 2020 planting season is in progress.
U.S. corn farmers have planted 3 per cent of the national corn crop, the USDA’s April 14 Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin said. That figure is on par with last year’s progress around this time.
In total, the USDA projects farmers will plant 97 million corn acres, up 8 per cent from 2019.
On a state level, Texas farmers have planted the most corn at this point.
Growers there have planted 63 per cent of the state’s corn crop, the report says. That figure is up from 56 per cent last year.
North Carolina producers have planted 28 per cent of their state’s corn acres. That number represents a significant uptick from 2019’s 14 per cent progress.
Some farmers there are dealing with wet weather but look to be in a good position, said Guy Davenport, a producer from Creswell, N.C.
He’s planted about 200 of his 2,500 acres and plans to seed more acres later this week.
“Planting has been off to a good start,” he told Farms.com. “The weather has been wet, and the ground is cool, but the future forecast after today tends to be warming steadily. We expect to start planting again tomorrow.”
Davenport’s farm is ready to operate at full capacity once the weather allows.
He hasn’t experienced any input delivery delays due to the coronavirus outbreak, he said.
“All the seed is here, all the chemicals are here, nitrogen is in storage tanks and we’re ready to go,” he said.
The wet weather brings back memories of last year’s planting season for Davenport.
The extremely wet spring of 2019 led to North Carolina farmers registering more than 318,000 prevent plant acres.
“We were extremely wet last year and it took a long time for us and lots of other farmers to get the crop in,” he said. “We’re wet right now but it hasn’t been continuous rain, and we’re hoping it doesn’t come to that again.”
Other states that registered corn planting numbers include Illinois and Indiana (1 per cent each), Kansas (6 per cent), Missouri (4 per cent) and Tennessee (12 per cent).
The USDA will release its next Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin on April 21.