FARMERS KEEP CLOSE WATCH ON THE WEATHER

Area farmers heaved a sigh of relief this weekend. After five weeks of little or no rain, summer showers rejuvenated young crops and farmers' hopes that this will be a good crop year.

Larry Quade has been keeping an eye on the weather.

"We desperately need rain," said Quade Friday. "Our crops are looking pretty good right now, but dry weather and high temperatures are beginning to take their toll. Some of our corn is starting to twist."

Quade and his father, Clyde, farm about 1,000 acres in the Allenville area.

"It's been five weeks since we have had any notable rain," said Larry Quade. "We may have to turn on the irrigation facilities next week."

As much as an inch of rain fell in areas in and around Cape Girardeau over the past 24 hours, starting early Sunday. The extended forecast calls for little or no rain through Tuesday.

Things are better this year than last for the Quades.

"We lost about half of our crops to the flood last year," said Quade. "We were hemmed in by water. At least this year, we have a chance with our crops."

Larry Smith, a farmer in the Miller City, Ill. area, agrees.

Smith, who farms about 2,500 acres, lost more than 2,000 acres of crops to the 1993 flood.

Sand left on the ground when the waters finally receded has hampered some planting for Smith this year. He has about 1,800 acres planted and was busy Saturday planting soybeans.

"A lot of the land we farm is along the Mississippi River," said Smith. "We got a late start in planting."

Smith, who normally raises soybeans, corn and milo, is concentrating on soybeans and milo this year. "We were too late to plant corn," he said.

Farmers in Alexander County lost about 25,000 acres of farmland to flooding last year.

"A lot of farmers are watching the weather reports these days," said Terry Birk of the Cape Girardeau County Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service office at Jackson. "This is a crucial time for crops."

All corn and about 90 percent of single-crop soybeans are planted in the area.

"We're ahead of last year," said Birk. "Practically all of the corn is up. Most of it is looking okay, but we have some spots across the country where it looks a little ragged."

Some farmers are debating whether to stay with the corn, or replant some fields with milo.

Soybean planting statewide is about 98 percent complete in northern areas and about 90 percent complete in the Southeast Missouri area.

"The Missouri Department of Agriculture lists 49 percent of the beans which are up as "good," with 48 percent fair. Only three percent of the emerged beans were rated poor.

Those percentages are consistent with corn statewide -- 3 percent poor, 45 percent fair and 48 percent good. "Overall, progress of crops remains mostly favorable," said Birk.

"All planting should be completed within the next week," he added. "Some soybeans may be planted as late as July 10, but farmers will be sacrificing yield every day the crops are not in the ground."

Nationally, crop planting is well ahead of normal.

Corn, barley and oat planting is virtually complete, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"With most of the feed grain crops in the ground, attention now centers on crop development," said a "Feed Update" report by the USDA's Economic Research Service.

Planting news is mostly favorable, and early reports indicate the majority of crops are rated good to excellent, said the report.

Crop yields are expected to return to normal levels following the 1993 flooding. As much as 20,000 acres were lost to farming in Cape Girardeau County last year.

Meanwhile, winter wheat is "turning color," and harvesting is already under way throughout the southern third of the state.

"About 35 percent of the wheat has been harvested in the Southeast district," said Birk.