Farm Scene – Spring planting behind in North, ahead in South

The difference between the regions is remarkable, said Brad Rippey, a U.S. Department of Agriculture meteorologist in Washington.

?If you draw a line through Kentucky, just south of the Ohio River, that?s where you have very wet, cool, soggy soils to the north of that,? Rippey said. ?But to the south it?s on the dry side and planting is ahead of schedule.?

In Louisiana, for example, 47 percent of the sorghum was planted by April 15, compared to the 2002-2006 average of 25 percent, according to a National Agricultural Statistics Service report issued this week. The report showed that in Nebraska, 43 percent of oats had been planted, far behind the 68 percent average.

The early planting in the South is good news for most farmers, but it may have led to crop damage from an early April freeze, Rippey said. Farmers who rushed to plant corn to cash in on prices that have soared because of the demand for ethanol could be especially hard hit.

?If the crop was killed, damaged down to the growing point, it will have to be replanted,? Rippey said.

Crops also have been damaged by tornadoes, hailstorms and other severe weather that swept through the central United States this spring. In much of the Midwest, rain, snow and cold temperatures have delayed planting.

In Iowa, the nation?s largest corn producer, the crop report showed that almost no corn had been planted so far. Typically, 4 percent of the crop has been planted by this time.

Sam Cogdill, owner of Cogdill Farm Supply Inc. in Dunlap in western Iowa, said farmers there are a week to 10 days behind in planting. It?s probably worse in eastern Iowa because the soil there is wetter, he said.

Although such a delay may seem minor to those who don?t farm, ?it will decrease yields a small amount and it makes everybody irritable,? Cogdill said.

To make up for lost time, Cogdill said his business is rushing to apply fertilizer to fields.

?We?re trying to do three weeks? work in one week,? he said.

The main problem for corn growers has been soil temperature. Farmers prefer to wait for soil temperatures to climb into the 50s so the crop will germinate. In central Illinois, those temperatures reached only about 39 degrees last week, said Garry Niemeyer, a farmer from Glenarm, Ill.

?Everybody is really antsy, I can tell you that,? Niemeyer said.

When corn emerges late, pollination can be less effective, and farmers often must spend more money treating summer pests. A late crop also can lead to higher drying bills during harvest in the fall.

?This year, when you have the opportunity for higher-priced grain, you want to do everything just right,? Niemeyer said.