SIKESTON, Mo. -- It may be a couple of weeks behind schedule, but some farmers around the area are finally getting out in the fields to plant corn.
"Right now, it's just finding the high spots and getting them planted," said Anthony Ohmes, agronomy specialist at the Mississippi County Extension office. "Hopefully, the weather will continue to hold off. We need to have some nice days and get the ground temperature back up."
Flooding and high rainfall amounts over the past month have kept fields wet -- and some under water -- which has delayed the corn planting for most farmers for a week to 10 days, and even more for others who still haven't gotten to plant, said Ohmes.
This delay would tighten supplies, making corn an even more valuable resource. Around the area, the conditions vary from one location to the next.
"We need the rain to stop," said Jeff House, agronomy specialist at the New Madrid County Extension office. "We just about get dry enough to maybe think about doing something and then we get slammed with another two to three inches."
Over the weekend, about 2 inches of rain fell around New Madrid County, and farmers have not been able to start planting yet. "It's just not looking too good," said House. "I hate to speculate, but maybe we can get started later this week."
More rain in the forecast could only add to the problem for several farmers, and further push back production.
"I've never seen water standing for this long, and it's in places I've never seen it before," said David Reinbott, ag business specialist for the Scott County University of Missouri Extension, who has worked there for more than 20 years. "This is unbelievable."
Several Scott County farmers he has spoken to about the water situation say it's something they haven't seen since the early '70s.
House agreed, saying the last time he's seen so much water standing was in 1973 -- although that flooding occurred in the fall.
Planting may be later than usual, but Reinbott pointed out that at this time last year, farmers were rushing to replant corn following the April freeze.
"Most guys in this part of the county like to be done or wrapping up (planting) by mid-April," he said. Now, it looks like it will be around the beginning of May once all the seeds are in the ground -- but that will be determined on drainage and how the weather cooperates.
House agreed. "Once we dry up, we'll push corn for a little while. It will depend on whether we've got it booked or not," he said. Booking is when farmers reserve a certain amount of crop for a set price in advance of the planting season.
But corn planting isn't the only way the water has held farmers back. "Nothing is happening," said House, noting that rice, corn, soybean and cotton production will all be pushed back. "It's just kind of a hairy deal right now."
Impacts on the wheat crop are yet to be assessed, said Ohmes.
"The wheat is still growing," he said. "But it's wet and needs some dry weather to dry out the soils and get some oxygen into the root system."
The oxygen, he explained, is what allows nutrients, as well as the nitrogen applied, into the plant's system. "The wheat will hopefully perk up [once the nitrogen is in its system,]" he said.
Reinbott predicted 100 percent losses on some wheat crops which were submerged. "I'd say where the water stood for several days, it was a loss," he said.
Ohmes said that while it's a day-by-day thing to determine, he predicts losses, too. "You can pretty much bet that with wheat that's been under water and under stress for several weeks, the yield is probably not going to be too strong," he said. "But you really don't know what that loss will incur until later on."
For the most part, Ohmes said this is a process of "waiting it out," to see what happens.
And although local farmers may be facing challenges, House also reminded that it could be worse. "Look at Butler County," he said, referring to recent problems brought out by the break of levees along the Black River.
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