Frost and Rain Slowing Crop Development in NE Indiana
Sunday night saw frost in many fields in Eastern and Northeastern Indiana. Lance Shepherd, agronomist with Dupont Pioneer, says germination and early crop development has been slowed by the rain and cool temperatures, “The corn and soybean seeds that have been planted are for the most part just sitting there.” He said the area has only accumulated about 90 growing degree units in the past 2 weeks.
With about 40% of the crop planted in the NE, Shepherd says close to 20% may need to be replanted. He told HAT determining which fields to replace is currently difficult, “The crop needs more heat units before we can determine what fields are good replant candidates. It might be better to continue planting and then comeback and assess replant after your crops are in.”
Shepherd says some fieldwork may resume later this week, but feels that overall we will have enough time to get everything in the ground, “Most farmers can get their planting done in 7 days, so I think we are still OK and do not look for any switching from corn to soybeans yet.” He also discussed other early season agronomy issues in this week’s DuPont Pioneer Agronomy report.
Listen to the complete report with Lance Shepherd under the agronomy tab.