By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — While corn planting would have normally started earlier this month in southern Missouri and southern Illinois, moving northward into early May, the wet conditions and soil temperatures in the mid- to upper-40s sweeping through the Midwest will likely delay spring seeding.

“Cool, wet conditions this past week slowed the start of the planting season in Illinois,” said the state’s Department of Agriculture crop and weather report. “Producers are reporting that it may take a few weeks of warm, dry conditions to begin planting in earnest. Temperatures averaged 45.8 degrees, 1.4 degrees below normal across the state.”

In Iowa, cold, wet weather conditions limited field work as spring continued its slow arrival, according to the Iowa Crops and Weather Report, which stated farmers’ primary activities included discing stalks, applying fertilizer, seeding oats and repairing tile lines and waterways where conditions permitted.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said last week although it’s spring, the wet weather and cold temperatures have limited the ability of farmers to get in the fields. “With the late harvest last fall, farmers are hoping they will soon be able to start field work and prepare for planting,” he said.

In Ohio, the average temperature for the state was 47.4 degrees, 0.7 degrees above normal for the week ending April 5.
“Precipitation averaged 0.88 inches, 0.07 inches below normal,” the state’s crop and weather report stated. “There were 35 modified growing degree days, two days above normal.”

But, reporters rated 3.3 days suitable for fieldwork during the seven-day period ending April 3.

Bob Boehm, manager of the Michigan Farm Bureau Commodity and Marketing Department, said while corn in Michigan is normally planted in mid- to late-April followed by soybeans, the cold, wet weather as of late would cause corn planting to be delayed this season.

”So far we’ve had a cold, wet spring that followed a late, wet fall,” he said, adding that more farmers may start planting soybeans first. “That, coupled with high fall fertilizer prices, meant that a lot of people didn’t apply their fall fertilizers, which gives them a smaller planting window and a lot of work to get done this spring.”
Kentucky’s crop and weather report said the Commonwealth continued to replenish moisture as the state received above-normal rainfall for the second straight week. The report also said the first week of April in Kentucky was characterized by below-normal temperatures and above-normal rainfall, with temperatures averaging 51 degrees (see related article on page 1C).

“Temperatures were slightly cooler during the period as below-normal values were reported for the first time in five weeks,” the report read. “Temperatures did drop to frost/freeze levels on March 30. Temperatures for the period averaged 51 degrees across the state, which was one degree below normal. High temperatures averaged from 65 in the west to 65 in the east.”

Harry Hillaker, state climatologist for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), said for this spring’s planting, south-central and southeastern Iowa, northern Illinois and much of the Northern Plains have had unusually wet soils.
“There is an area of dryness in Wisconsin and upper Michigan that would include far northern Iowa (roughly Mitchell County and directly east),” he said.

“This area consistently has been on the dry side of normal since late last summer; very dry conditions prevail across much of Oklahoma and Texas. Overall, much of the Corn Belt is on the wet side of normal at the present time,” Hillaker said.

“In Iowa, this wetness primarily is a result of a very wet March. This was the third wettest March on record for the south-central and southeast climate districts of Iowa; however, March precipitation was well below normal in far northern Iowa.”

Hillaker said last spring’s wet conditions were even more widespread over the Corn Belt than now, with the exception of the Northern Plains, where conditions were much drier in spring 2008.
“There is a major storm system expected to pass through the Midwest this Sunday and Monday (April 12-13),” he said. “This storm (all rain this time, unlike the previous weekend) will mainly affect the southern half of the region. Widespread rain is expected across Kansas, Oklahoma, north Texas and eastward through the Ohio Valley.”

Hillaker said longer-range outlooks from the National Weather Service (April 17-23) are favoring wetter and cooler-than-normal conditions over much of the south-central and southeastern U.S., with warmer and drier-than-usual conditions favored for the northwestern U.S.

Because longer-range outlooks rarely enjoy much accuracy at this time of year, Hillaker said the typical scenario – specifically for Iowa, but probably somewhat representative for the Midwest in general – in years that began with a La Nina event in place, such as 2009, is for April to frequently be wetter than usual.

“Thus, as most farmers are well aware, being prepared to take advantage of any warm, dry spells at this time of year is critical to be able to get a crop in the ground in a timely manner,” he said.