BAD WEATHER RESULTS IN LATE CROP CHANGES

Spring planting has been delayed again.

Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois farmers are usually in the fields by late February, but wet weather conditions have prevented fieldwork.

Following rains of more than 3.5 inches during the past week, leading to the first day of spring Friday, farmers must wait another week to 10 days to get into their fields.

The wait, however, will allow farmers to check their winter wheat fields for damage from recent freeze conditions.

"We may be planting more corn this year," said Joe Lumsden of the Scott City area. "The recent freeze damaged a lot of wheat."

Lumsden, who farms about 800 acres, usually plants about 300 acres of corn. This year, he might planting 400 acres.

"We're still in good shape for planting corn," said Lumsden. "We usually like to get the corn planted in early April. If the rains hold off now, we can be back in the field within 10 days."

That's the situation for most farmers. Terry Birk of the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service office at Jackson said, "We checked the rain in the immediate area. It has rained about 3.6 inches during the past week."

Now farmers must wait for some sunshine and warm temperatures, but many farmers did get some soil work done last fall and again in early February, said Birk.

Farmers usually don't get corn seed in the ground until the first of April and go through the entire month, even into early May, said Birk.

Soybeans are usually planted in June.

"The ideal planting time for beans is the first week of June," said Birk, "but some beans, planted after the harvest of wheat, can be put in the ground up to June 20."

Cape Girardeau County farmers are expected to plant about 45,000 acres of soybeans, along with about 35,000 acres of corn.

"We haven't heard the final results of the recent freeze on winter wheat," said Birk. "Corn acreage could be up if the wheat is ruined." About 20,000 acres of winter wheat is the county's average, with as much as 50,000 acres in Scott County and up to 80,000 acres in Stoddard County, which usually ranks among the state's top two or three wheat-producing counties.

Production of cotton, a big crop in several counties in the Bootheel, might be down this year. Based on results from the National Cotton Council's early season planting intentions survey, acreage is projected to be down by 30 percent in Missouri, to about 266,000 acres.

Tennessee and Arkansas growers also will cut down on their cotton crops. Tennessee farmers were expected to plant about 380,000 acres, down 30 percent from 1997, and Arkansas farmers were expected to plant about 780,000 acres, down 17 percent.

What's planted here?

These are average acreages of crops in a number of Southeast Missouri counties:

Cape Girardeau: 35,000 acres corn; 45,000 soybeans; 20,000 wheat; 7,100 sorghum; and 45,000 hay.

Mississippi: 55,000 corn; 150,000 soybeans; 52,000; 20,000 wheat; 4,800 cotton; and 2,200 hay.

Perry: 22,000 corn; 25,000 soybeans; 25,000 wheat; 2.900 sorghum; and 27,000 hay.

Scott: 40,000 corn; 100,000 soybeans; 55,000 wheat 17,200 sorghum; 6,600 hay; 8,500 cotton.

Stoddard: 85,000 corn; 150,000 soybeans; 80,000 wheat; 43,000 sorghum; 8,600 wheat; 21,800 cotton.

Dunklin: 134,900 cotton; 90,000 soybeans; 10,000 corn; 25,000 wheat.

New Madrid: 89,000 cotton; 160,000 soybeans; 60,000 corn; 40,000 wheat.

Pemiscot: 75,000 cotton; 150,000 soybeans; 15,000 corn; 70,000 wheat.