Corn and Soybean Planting Now Underway in 16 States
Last week's warmer and drier weather created an open window for more farmers to start on planting. According to USDA's weekly Crop Progress report released Monday afternoon, 12 states have already started planting corn and soybeans, with both crops ahead of the average planting pace for this time of year.
USDA says as of Sunday, April 16, 8% of the nation's corn crop is now in the ground, which is a 5 percentage-point jump from last week. It's also 3 points higher than the five-year average and 4 points ahead of last year's corn planting pace.
The report also included USDA's first look at soybean planting progress for the year. The agency reported 4% of the nation's soybean crop is planted, which is 3 percentage points ahead of average and 3 points above last year. 
State-By-State Breakdown
A state-by-state breakdown Ohio is the only state behind in soybean planting so far this year. Typically, USDA shows the state would be 1% planted on soybeans, but USDA's latest report shows farmers haven't started planting soybeans yet.
Other soybean planting highlights include:
- Arkansas' planting pace is 11 points ahead of average
- 23% of the crop is planted in Mississippi
- Louisiana farmers have 30% of the soybean crop planted, nearly double the average planting pace.
The latest Crop Progress report shows Missouri farmers saw the biggest jump in corn planting progress when compared to average. USDA reports 30% of Missouri's corn crop is planted as of Sunday, 22 points ahead of the average planting pace.
Other highlights include:
- Kansas farmers have 17% of the state's corn planted, compared to 10% average planting pace
- Illinois is 10% planted, up 7 percentage-points from average
- 7% of Iowa's corn is planted, compared 1% for the five-year average
- 65% planted in Texas
- Tennessee has 23% of the crop planted
- North Carolina farmers are behind planting corn, with 28% planted, a 4 point drop from average.
Farmers From Across the Country Weigh in on Planting Progress
We asked farmers to weigh in on planting progress on the U.S. Farm Report Facebook page. The responses flooded in, and it showed farmers were in the field, with more progress reported in Missouri and Illinois.
Pam Thompson says her son planted until 1:00 a.m. Friday morning to get this farm done in Wainwright, Mo. She says the ground was working so nicely, he didn't want to take any chances of weather getting in the way.
Mike Gossen reports corn planting is well underway in his area of Nebraska. Gossen farms in Gage County, and he says 75% of his corn has already been planted. He hadn't started soybeans yet, but over the weekend his area finally saw some rain.
Rodney Richardson farms in west-central Illinois. he says things dried out quickly where he's located, and so now he and other farmers are planting both corn and soybeans as fast as they can.
Just 90 miles north of Richardson, Brian Rahmus has also started planting. He says the dust is flying where he lives and farms in Geneseo, Ill.
Just to the west of Springfield, Ill., planters have also started to roll. Nikki Coop says they were able to plant all their beans and most of their corn before the rain started in Morgan County, Illinois this weekend.
Corey Gross says they started planting corn and soybeans in southern Tama County, Iowa two days ago.
Still Too Wet to Plant in Some Areas
It's only mid-April, which means more cold and snowy weather could still be on the way. Several areas of the northern Corn Belt and Plains saw snow this weekend and into today. There are also frost and freeze warnings for the eastern Corn Belt tonight.
Even spring field work is behind in areas such as North Dakota and South Dakota. Heavy snowpack started to melt last week, and while some farmers tried to get into drier fields to start on spring fertilizer, others still couldn't see the ground to plant.
Tyler New says they tried to apply spring fertilizer in south central South Dakota, but it didn't take them long to see the soils were still too saturated.
Jeremey Krueger says planting is still a long way off in his area. As of this weekend, you still couldn't even see the ground near Groton, S.D.
Who else could see planting issues this week due to not only the cold but potential flooding? Drew Lerner of World Weather, Inc. has your planting forecast.
