Nothing says spring planting like snowfall across the upper Midwest in mid-April, does it? Up to five inches of snow fell in north central Wisconsin on Monday with forecasts of an inch or two of snow today in Detroit and Toledo. The cold weather illustrates the slow start to the planting season in the Farm Belt.
The Agriculture Department says 3 pct of corn land was planted as of Sunday, half of the usual rate. In the five states – Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota and Indiana – that together grow three of every five bushels of the crop, only Illinois and Nebraska reported plantings, each at 1 pct. Illinois ordinarily would be at 10 pct and Indiana at 5 pct. USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report says the winter wheat crop declined a bit. Some 32 pct of winter wheat is in poor or very poor condition vs 29 pct a week ago; 34 pct of the crop is good or excellent, vs 35 pct last week.
The southern and central Plains, a key part of the Wheat Belt, and the West are under drought. USDA’s April forecast for water supplies says most of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and northern parts of Colorado and Utah are expected to have near normal or above normal water supplies. Streamflows will be far below normal in southern Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah and western Nevada.