Weather-weary crops not helped by forecast

June weather

predicted to

be cool, wet

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Wanted: warm, dry weather and lower fuel costs.

Relief is not on the horizon.

Unfortunately for area farmers, the early-June heat wave the Old Farmer's Almanac predicted for the Northern Great Plains isn't going to happen soon.

June will be cooler and wetter than normal in the Upper Midwest, according to the National Weather Service.

The June-through-August outlook calls for slightly below normal temperatures and moderately above normal precipitation.

A cool, wet April delayed getting corn and soybeans into the ground, putting corn 10 days to two weeks behind schedule, according to Brown County Extension Agent Wayne Schoper.

Ninety-five percent of corn was planted statewide as of Sunday. That rate is three percent behind the five-year average and four points behind last year, according to the Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service in St. Paul.

Corn emergence was 79 percent, compared to 99 percent at this time last year.

"The corn is a little yellow," Schoper said. "Warm weather would help it shape up pretty well. We need lots of 80-degree days and no more rain."

Topsoil moisture conditions across the state were 59 percent adequate and 41 percent surplus.

Statewide, soybeans were 74 percent planted compared to 98 percent last year and 89 percent for the five-year average.

Soybean emergence is far behind -- 36 percent -- compared to 91 percent a year ago and the five-year average of 62 percent.

"Soybean planting was spotty with lots of poor stands," Schoper said. "There was lots of suspect germination last fall. Cool, wet conditions created lots of pathogens (disease-causing micro-organisms)."

Schoper predicted many soybean fields will need to be replanted. The cool weather also makes herbicides less effective and creates crop stress.

Sugar beets and potatoes were the exception. Sugar beets were 97 percent planted, compared to the five-year average of 98 percent. Potatoes were 85 percent planted. The five-year average was 81 percent.

Seed costs went up two years ago, and higher fuel costs make a tough situation worse.

The poor conditions could drive prices up.

"It's hard to make a buck farming," Schoper said. "Margins are tight. If this weather continues, we could see 30-40 percent yield reductions with 100-110 bushel corn and 30-40 bushel soybeans. It could be even worse in Iowa. You hate to rely on somebody else's misfortune to do well yourself."

Corn and soybean producers who haven't been able to plant yet may want to consider planting for silage. This option may be a good for farmers who can feed or sell the forage, says agronomist Denise McWilliams of the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

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Find the Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service at http://www.nass.usda.gov/mn/