Planting this year is going well so far, said Dan Martin, who was just finishing his last 30 acres of soybeans. He had about 315 acres of corn in the ground.

“All in all, it is probably a pretty normal planting season,” Martin said. “A lot of people planted really early, which is fine. We usually wait until about the second week of April.”

Things were not so good in some of the sandier corn fields in northern Ohio where Asiatic garden beetles were causing problems, said Ron Hammond, Ohio State University extension specialist in entomology. These beetles are typically a minor pest in turf, but are more damaging than most grubs in crop fields.

“We had heard from other growers who thought they were having problems with Japanese beetles and after talking with them, they were these Asiatic garden beetles,” Hammond said. “They are more aggressive and damaging than Japanese beetles.”

Hammond is interested in learning the extent of the Asiatic garden beetles. If producers find them in their fields - typically the sandy soils along the southern Lake Erie area - he asked that they email him at hammond.5@osu.edu

In other crop news, following a week of dry, warm weather, the Ohio intended corn crop was 94 percent planted according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) report for Ohio for the week ending May 20. Corn was 73 percent emerged.

Seventy-four percent of soybeans were planted, with 37 percent emerged. The winter wheat crop was 94 percent headed and 1 percent was turning color. The first cutting of alfalfa hay was 39 percent complete. Other hay cutting was 25 percent complete.

The weather in central Indiana can be described in a simple three-letter word: D-R-Y.

“The corn crop is at the critical point right now,” said Jack Shriver, Miami County. “We’re hurting. We could take 4 inches of rain - a good, steady, soaking rain.”

Mark Wise, Kosciusko County, agreed, with, “It’s way too dry,” and Micah Lukens, Fulton County, added, “There are spots where corn is starting to dry up.”

Rain has been spotty at best. An area west of Rochester received 3.5 inches, Rochester had 2 inches while Athens, five miles east, had 1.5 inches. By the time it reached the Akron area, another five miles east, it was dwindled to 0.1 inch - barely enough to wet a whistle.

Claudia Bailey reported mud puddles formed at her farm south of Athens, but  the rain was accompanied by heavy hail that severely damaged much of her corn crop.

Overall, NASS reported that 97 percent of the corn had been planted by May 21 with 87 percent emerged. With 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork, 87 percent of the soybeans were planted, with 62 percent emerged.

NASS noted 26 percent of the corn is in fair condition, 55 percent good and 15 percent excellent. That left another 4 percent as either very poor or poor.

Warm and dry conditions across the state last week provided 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Many farmers took advantage of the conditions to continue planting, spraying crops and cutting hay.

That trend may end next week, however, according to Paul Georgy, president and CEO of Allendale, Inc., a brokerage and research firm, in McHenry, Ill.

“Weather forecasts for next week are putting significant moisture northwest of a line from Omaha to Minneapolis. Southwest of the line, 0.5 to 1 inch should fall,” Georgy said. He added that high temperatures over the Memorial Day weekend likely would intensify concerns for rainfall.

Statewide last week, precipitation averaged just .04 inch and temperatures were at 67.7 degrees, 3.7 degrees above normal.

Planted progress for corn reached 99 percent statewide, 20 percentage points more than the five-year average of 79 percent. Corn conditions rated 16 percent excellent and 63 percent good; only 21 percent were fair or worse.

Soybeans planted increased from 44 percent to 80 percent over the past week, well above the five-year average of 37 percent. The last 20 percent may have to wait until those fields get some rain, as they are too dry to plant.

The first cutting of alfalfa stands at 68 percent, compared to a five-year average of just 19 percent.