The above AP photo was taken by Seth Perlman. Farmer Ed Miles is shownrepairing a corn and soybean planter on his farm near Loami, Ill., on Thursday,April 16.First, the bad news. Similar to last year, wet, cool weather during thefirst three weeks in April has prevented farmers from eastern Iowa to Ohio fromplanting corn at their normal pace. According to the U.S Department ofAgriculture, this region accounts for close to 50 percent of this year'santicipated 85 million-acre crop. Rain has fallen in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on 10of the first 20 days of the month. There have been no more than threeconsecutive days without rain. As a result, corn planting in Missouri as ofSunday, April 19, was only 7 percent completed. This compares to the 5-yearaverage of 42 percent. Late-planted corn is more vulnerable to summer heat andmay not reach maturity before autumn frosts set in.
The good news is that the weather pattern is changing now. Longer spells ofsunny, warm weather are expected over the next two to three weeks. While therecan be rainfall of 1 to 2 inches next week, much of this week has been dry sofar. Dry, warm, summerlike weather is forecast to be in place through theweekend. This should allow corn planting, which is now two to three weeksbehind schedule, to make significant progress.
Story by AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologists Dale Mohler and AlexSosnowski
