Soggy spring keeping Midwest farmers out of their corn fields
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A soggy, rain-soaked cornfield sits unplanted Monday after weeks of constant rain has kept central Illinois farmers from seeding their ground in Farmingdale. After suffering through a drought, now rain is the problem, and the soggy fields means Midwest farmers have a fast-closing window to decide even what to plant this year. Associated Press |
GREEN BAY, Wis. — A soggy spring has kept many Midwest farmers out of their corn fields.
The National Agriculture Statistics Service says about 4 percent of corn fields in Wisconsin have been planted, well behind the normal pace of about 26 percent by this time.
It's a similar scenario across America's breadbasket, where 12 percent of the nation's cornfields have been planted. That's about a quarter of what was planted by this date over the previous five years.
Most of the planting in Wisconsin has been to the south. Brown County agriculture agent Mark Hagedorn tells WLUK-TV there isn't much being done to the north, but that could change in three to five days without any significant rainfall.
