2015 U.S. planting progress now only slightly ahead of average

Corn-The 2015 corn crop is now 95% planted compared to an average of 94%. Most of the corn acres left to plant are in the southern Corn Belt where it has been wetter. Nationwide, there are 4,459,000 acres of corn that still need to be planted compared to the estimated corn acreage in the March Prospective Planting report. On an individual statewide basis, there are still 567,000 acres of corn left to plant in Kansas, 558,000 acres in Nebraska, 429,000 acres in Missouri, and 408,000 acres in Iowa. The corn is 84% emerged compared to an average of 79%.

Corn planting is still ahead of average, but most of the acres that remain to be planted are in southern locations where the corn should have been planted weeks ago. I have been anticipating that the harvested corn acreage would end up being 1.5 million acres more than the March Prospective Planting estimate. With the way things are going in the southern Corn Belt, an increase of 1.5 million acres might be too optimistic. The corn harvested acreage was left unchanged this week, but it may be lowered in future reports.

Soybeans - The 2015 soybean crop is 71% planted compared to the average of 70%. In the western Corn Belt (Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska), the soybeans are 79% planted compared to the average of 74%. In the eastern Corn Belt (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan), the soybeans are 83% planted compared to the average of 68%. The soybeans are 49% emerged compared to an average of 45%.

The soybean planting also remains slightly ahead of average. The last soybeans to be planted are always the double crop soybeans planted after the wheat is harvested. It is possible the wheat harvest might be delayed this year if the current wet pattern persists for several more weeks. A delay in planting the double crop soybeans would be a concern, but on the flip side, if the delay is caused by wet conditions, the good soil moisture would be beneficial for germination and emergence of the soybeans. Commonly, dry soils are the bigger problem for double crop soybeans.