Published: April 24, 2008 08:11 pm            

Rains put corn planting behind schedule

LOUISVILLE — Kentucky's soggy spring has put corn planting well behind schedule for farmers like Randy Hagan, who spent more time tinkering in his shop than working in his fields.

Having finally gotten a welcome break from the wet weather, Hagan and other corn growers were rushing this week to make up for lost time — knowing more delays could result in lower yields in the fall.

"They're in the 'go' mode right now," Kenny Perry, agricultural extension agent in Graves County in western Kentucky, said by phone Thursday. "They're excited to finally be getting into the fields."

Hagan and other anxious farmers in the state's grain belt also kept a wary eye on the sky Thursday amid the threat of more showers that would again halt field work.

"If the weather will straighten up, we can get a lot done and still be all right," said Hagan, who farms with his son Jonathan in Union, Henderson and Webster counties in western Kentucky.

Asked to sum up the season so far, Hagan replied, "you probably can't write it," he said, laughing.

Persistent rains turned spring planting into a series of starts and stops, unlike a year ago when Hagan was wrapping up corn planting by now. By Thursday, about a third of his 2,500 acres of corn was in the ground.

Statewide, 11 percent of the intended corn acreage had been planted as of last Sunday, compared to 39 percent last year and a five-year average of 47 percent, according to the latest report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service's Kentucky field office.

Above-normal rainfall has fallen so far during the planting season.

In western Kentucky, Paducah has received just over 16 inches of rain since March 1, 7 inches above normal, said Tom Priddy, a University of Kentucky extension agricultural meteorologist.

Louisville has received 14 inches since March 1, nearly 7 inches above normal, he said. Lexington is 4 inches above normal at 11.9 inches, while Bowling Green is 2.3 inches above normal at 10.7 inches.

Temperatures generally were below normal during that period, he said.

Wet conditions forced some farmers to plant in less-than-ideal conditions and to alter fertilizer applications. But the wet weather hasn't dampened their outlook for the season.

"We're not in bad shape yet," said Graves County farmer Greg Smith. "But what hurts is that we're having to work the ground just a little bit wet. It's been my experience that that translates into lower yields."

Not all farmers were facing a planting pinch.

Mike Ellis, who farms with his brothers Bob and Jim in Shelby and Henry counties in northcentral Kentucky, said their corn planting was on schedule. They waited a bit longer to start, thinking it could result in better yields, he said. But now they're working 13 or 14-hour days, like other grain farmers across the state.

The push to get the crop in the ground comes amid the allure of high corn prices. That's leading to much of the frustration for farmers already shouldering sharply higher costs for fuel, fertilizer and other expenses.

"We finally have some good prices, and now we just need some yield to go with it," Hagan said.

In Union County, consistently at or near the top in Kentucky corn production, only about one-fifth of the corn crop has been planted, estimated Rankin Powell, the county's ag extension agent.

Last year at this time, corn planting was winding down in the county, he said.

Graves County farmers also are only a fourth or fifth done with corn planting this year, Perry said.

Perry said farmers should be OK if they can get their corn planted in the next couple of weeks and the growing season turns out to be normal. But longer delays would mean the late corn would pollinate during the stifling summer heat, he said. "That will knock our yields down," he said.

Longer delays in corn planting could prompt some growers to switch acreage to soybeans, which are planted later in the season, Perry said. But that could come with risks as well because of limited soybean seed supplies, an outgrowth of last year's drought, he said.

He predicted farmers will be able to get the soybean seed they need, but may face limited varieties.

"It's a pretty perilous fence that they're straddling right now," Perry said, whether they grow corn or soybeans. "There's a lot of things that could go against them that could cause severe problems."

        

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