By Celeste Baumgartner Ohio Correspondent
Ed Beeler row-crops about 250 acres of corn, 250 acres of soybeans, 30 acres of wheat and 100-plus acres of hay. Things are looking good at his farm, where he had all of the corn and beans planted last week. “All of my corn is up, and 85 percent of my beans are up,” Beeler said. “Everything is sprayed and looks relatively good at the moment. The cold weather has slowed down the growing and probably slowed down the beans coming up. The wheat is headed out and looking fairly good.” Beeler has seen no signs of insects in the wheat. The cold weather has slowed the hay; his alfalfa is just starting to bloom. He cut hay May 19, and it was still on the ground Thursday. “Mother Nature is not cooperating,” he said. He was a bit ahead of the game, according to the NASS Great Lakes regional office report for the week ending May 17. Moderate rainfall had limited planting for many, but above-normal temperatures helped advance crops in the ground in Ohio. There were 4.6 days suitable for fieldwork during the week. Most of the state saw some rain, with the heaviest amounts falling in the northwest, according to the report. High humidity limited the field-drying between showers. Pastures and hay benefited from conditions, and some farmers were able to cut hay. Planting of processing tomatoes was under way, along with other specialty crops. Corn planted was at 77 percent that week, compared to 49 percent last year and 59 percent for the five-year average. Corn emerged was at 46 percent. That compared to 16 percent last year and 32 for the five-year average. Soybeans were 46 percent planted. That compared to 19 percent last year and 33 for the five-year average. Soybeans emerged stood at 10 percent, compared to 3 percent in 2014 and 11 for the five-year average. Winter wheat jointing was at 73 percent, down from 83 percent last year. Winter wheat headed was 10 percent, compared to 3 last year. Oats planted were at 90 percent – that figure was 85 percent last year. Seventy-two percent of the oats were emerged, compared to 64 percent last year.
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