HARLAN, Iowa — Because of a record wet spring, Iowa farmers planted more soybeans and less corn than intended, according to the USDA’s latest Acreage report.

“Mother Nature got the best of our planting intentions with all the rainfall,” said Clarke McGrath, Iowa State University extension field agronomist and partner program manager at ISU’s Iowa Corn & Soybean Initiative in Harlan, in west-central Iowa.

“Over my way, we had a shift from what would have been corn-on-corn,” he added. “As it got later and later, guys shifted to soybeans in the cornstalks in some areas, so we lost corn acres and gained bean acres.”

Released June 28, the report estimated the state’s farmers planted 9.5 million acres of soybeans, up 100,000 from March intentions and 9.35 million acres in 2012. An estimated 14 million acres of corn were planted, down 200,000 acres from March intentions, the report added.

Other areas weren’t so fortunate, McGrath said, since their intended acres were too wet for corn, with many farmers already planning on shifting to soybeans.

“For far too many folks, the rain kept coming, and rather than being able to shift to soybeans, planting never happened at all,” he said. “It’s incredibly frustrating for the growers and agribusinesses in those areas. It could have agronomic and economic implications that last well beyond this season.”

In fact, according to the Iowa Soybean Assoc. (ISA), the northern tier of the state, namely along with portions of central Iowa, will likely to have the most prevent-plant acres. For example, ISA members in Mitchell and Howard counties (both next to the Minnesota border), after consulting with agricultural retailers, estimated a small percentage of intended soybean acres in each county won’t be planted, while 30 percent of intended corn acres won’t be seeded.

The report said Mitchell County farmers planted 158,500 acres of corn and 85,500 acres of soybeans last year, while Howard County producers planted 138,500 acres of corn and 85,500 acres of soybeans.

“Unplanted acres are a huge blow to growers and input/service providers in those areas,” McGrath said. “Yet on a nationwide basis, the impact is barely perceptible. I recall the flooding over here a couple years ago. Our area lost a lot of crop production, but when looking at USDA numbers, one would never have known.”

Barry Christensen, Lime Springs farmer and an ISA Farm and Food ambassador, finished planting soybeans late last month, but he and his father will have 400 acres of prevent-plant corn. But he isn’t sure if the tens of thousands of acres in Mitchell and Howard counties left unplanted will make a difference at the national and international levels.

“It’s pretty tough to see fields with just black dirt and weeds,” he said. “With all the cattle, hogs and ethanol plants to support, it will make a big impact locally. Corn will have to be brought in.”

McGrath said Christensen “really captured the essence” of the situation in Mitchell and Howard counties. “It is incredibly frustrating for ag-related folks in these hard-hit areas to have a disaster on their hands and hear about how great it is in other regions,” he said.

“In many cases, guys had fertilizer on, some had chemicals on,” he added, “so the expenses are there, but no crop to market. Crop insurance is helpful, but nothing can replace the opportunity of having bushels to market.”

Wayne Fredericks, Osage farmer and ISA board member, only has 60 acres of soybeans to plant out of nearly 1,000, split between soybeans and corn, which he said has been “the most difficult, gut-wrenching” planting season since he started farming in 1973. “You can see the (frustration) on people’s faces,” he said. “You can drive for three miles and have fields on each side not planted. Maybe the market will realize (it).”

Mark Jackson, Rose Hill farmer and ISA president, said farmers need to stay focused on their marketing efforts. “The adage ‘rain makes grain’ is a dominant theme on traders’ minds and will likely pressure price cycles throughout the 2013 marketing season,” he said.

“This is little consolation to farmers with mixed crop conditions. But, a reminder to utilize the expertise of the Iowa Soybean Association to maximize crop maintenance decisions in another difficult cropping season.”

Nationally, the report said a record-high estimated 77.7 million acres of soybeans were planted, up 1 percent from last year. In addition, according to the USDA’s Grain Stocks report, also released June 28, Iowa’s soybean reserves were estimated at 103 million bushels as of June 1, down 29 percent from June 1, 2012. The nation’s soybean reserves were 435 million bushels on June 1, down 35 percent from a year ago.

Despite the cutback in Iowa’s planted corn this spring, the USDA said the amount of acreage across the nation is the most since 1936, when 102 million acres of corn were planted. This year alone, U.S. farmers have planted an estimated 97.4 million acres.

As the nation’s top corn and soybean producer, Iowa’s corn stocks on June 1 totaled 565 million bushels, 18 percent fewer than a year ago, according to the Grain Stocks report. The nation’s supply of corn totaled 2.76 billion bushels on June 1, down 12 percent from June 1, 2012.

Moreover, the USDA’s July World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, released July 11, indicated no change in U.S. corn and soybean yields from June’s report, projecting 2013 corn to be 156.5 bushels per acre and the soybean yield to be 44.5 bushels per acre.

Todd Davis, American Farm Bureau Federation economist, said corn production is down slightly from June due to slightly lower harvested acreage expectations. “The corn crop is projected at 13.95 billion bushels, down from slightly above 14 billion bushels in last month’s report. Despite a decreased estimate, corn production is still on target for a record-setting year, if realized.”

The U.S. soybean crop, projected at 3.42 billion bushels, would also be record-setting, if realized, he added.