Many US farmers are waiting for crop insurance coverage to kick in before getting too aggressive in planting corn early, resisting the temptation presented by record warm temperatures this spring, a top agronomist said on Wednesday.
"Monday's numbers from USDA certainly showed 'some' early planting but the dam has not broken yet. The short-term weather forecast is favourable in terms of no expected heavy rains, but a cool off in temps may dampen some spirits," Robert Nielsen, a state extension corn specialist with Purdue University in Indiana, told Thomson Reuters online ags forum.
"Most have been impatiently waiting for the April 6 insurance date before getting too serious about planting corn," he added. While Indiana farmers had seeded 1 percent of their corn as of Sunday, nation-wide farmers had planted 3 percent, matching the earliest start on record since 1999.
Some farmers took advantage of summer-like temperatures in March, brushing off crop insurance dates which do not kick in until the first or second week of April - betting on an early harvest so they can meet the world's demand for corn amid a tight US supply left from the 2011 harvest. Farmers aim to get their corn planted by mid-May as yields tend to drop off after then. But heavy spring rains and flooding have put them behind in recent years.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.