Frustration Growing with Very Wet Spring

Kalbs corn not good

Kevin KalbThis week Hoosier Ag Today posted an agronomist’s update about a very wet southwest Indiana. Thursday afternoon we spoke with a farmer who feels as though he is right in the middle of the wettest of it. Kevin Kalb is in Dubois, Indiana near Jasper and it was starting to sprinkle as he reported conditions to us.

“It’s been about the wettest I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I’ve got to think back to ’96 as far as the wet, and every time we get ready and think we’re going to plant Mother Nature changes her mind for us. I think so far in the month of May we’ve had about 15 inches of rain.”

More rain came Wednesday night totaling anywhere from an inch to an inch and a half. So is Mother Nature picking on Kalb this year? It seems that way because just to the west and just to the north planting has progressed much quicker.

“West of us, not too far, about 10 to 15 miles, I believe they’re pretty well done planting. Go the north of us a little and I believe they’re done, but it seems right here in the local area we’ve been catching the blunt force of the rain.”

How far along is Kalb? “About half, of the corn acres, so I guess we’ll be switching to beans here. It’s just one of those years.”

So that’s half the corn planted and not a single soybean seed in the ground. Kalb says the first corn was planted on April 13th and it doesn’t look very good yet.

“By no means would I say it’s looking good, but this last week here it has kind of turned a corner. We got our sidedressing done and the nitrogen really helped it out a lot. On the hills there are a lot of bare spots. The springs are really pushing a lot of water out yet and it’s just not really good looking corn in our area.”

And if the rain stopped now he doesn’t think he would be able to start planting again for another week. That still gives him time to hit his June 15th date, at which point the corn on corn fan will take a serious look at switching those acres to beans.

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