Planting season is making progress in the Hoosier State.
According to Purdue Extension’s Ag Educator Phil Woolery, planting data is considered in-line with previous averages for this time of year, though things picked up in recent weeks.
In the Northwest portion of the state, about 90-percent of corn is in the ground. Around 60-percent of soybeans have also been planted amid recent price changes to the downside.
Woolery says the state figures also show average planting for this time of year.
“On a statewide basis, about 74-percent of corn has been planet, and 36-percent of soybeans have been planted,” says Woolery.
Northwest Indiana’s progress is slightly higher than the statewide figures. Wind and periodic warm streaks may have helped spur additional planting.
According to the latest USDA crop progress report, the Hoosier state has been delayed by just a bit in corn planting compared to other states. That may be due to precipitation levels over the last several weeks.
Woolery says moisture in the soil may indeed be hampering planting efforts.
“In some areas there has been some ponding in the fields which may cause the need to replant in some areas,” says Woolery.
The Indiana field office for the National Agricultural Statistics Service said that while rain may have been a causal factor in the delays, warm temperatures were positive for crop germination.
Corn crops have seen a more than 30-percent uptick in emergence over the previous couple of weeks.
