Corn projections raise questions for area farmers
USDA figures released Monday call for strong corn harvest, but flooding and short planting season caused many late and second crop plantings expected to lead to decreased harvest in fall
MARION COUNTY – The United States Department of Agriculture released its monthly Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates on Monday, and the report raises questions for Northeast Missouri farmers who witnessed a year hampered by a cool, damp spring, flooding and trade uncertainty.
Marion County Farm Bureau President and local farmer Joe Kendrick said the USDA reported that 90 million acres of corn had been planted across the nation out of an expected 91 million acres. Missouri agriculture makes up a small part of the corn market, Kendrick said, but he said almost every farmer in the area is behind schedule after either planting their corn late, planting it a second time or not being able to plant at all due to land that is still saturated from flooding — and Missouri farmers were not alone in facing challenges during this year’s growing season.
“There’s too many states that were late planted. I just read something this morning that said right now, the corn crop in the state of Missouri is only rated at 35% excellent or good, and this time last year it was 52%,” he said. “There’s no way it can be rated excellent or good when its 30 to 45 days behind.”
https://www.hannibal.net/news/20190816/corn-projections-raise-questions-for-area-farmers