Just 65 percent of the U.S. corn crop was rated in good or excellent condition in the USDA’s first assessment of the year. That figure came in well below the 72 percent rating at the end of May 2016, when farmers were headed for a record-setting harvest. Seed companies told DTN that this year they face higher than usual demand as growers consider replanting fields where seeds germinated poorly during cool spells or where pools of water drowned corn plants as they sprouted.
The USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report said that 91 percent of the corn crop was planted, compared with the five-year average of 93 percent. Farmers planted 7 percent of corn land, or roughly 6.3 million acres, in the week ended last Sunday, according to USDA estimates. Planting is slowest in the eastern Corn Belt, where Ohio is 7 percentage points behind its average and Indiana is 9 points behind its usual rate.
Four seed companies told DTN that they have been able to meet farmers’ demand for seed for replanting. An AgriGold official said this year could rank No. 1 or No. 2 among the worst years for farmers with flooded, chilled, or crusted fields that decimated plant populations.
When June arrives, potential yields for newly planted corn decline. Iowa State University says corn planted in the final week of May or the first week of June may produce yields that are just 70 percent of what can be expected for crops planted a month earlier.
Analytics company Gro Intelligence lowered its forecast of corn yields to 162.6 bushels an acre—a decrease of 6 bushels from estimates made a week ago—because of cool weather in the Midwest. “With recorded temperatures this far below average across a wide geographic area, the U.S. corn crop needs seasonal warming to occur soon to reach its yield potential,” it said in a statement.