Planting Progress Slows in U.S. Farm Country

Smith: Rainfall and wet conditions are slowing planting progress in the U.S. Betty Resnick, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, says a lot of the slowdown is taking place in the Corn Belt.

Resnick: Nationwide, we're about three percent behind our five-year average for corn planting as of this week and six percent behind last year's progress. Nebraska and Colorado are the furthest behind their averages, followed by Illinois, then Iowa and Kentucky. The Corn Belt is not really seeing immediate relief from this wet weather, and there are some final planting dates coming up for full crop insurance coverage by the end of May.

Smith: Resnick says we're still early in the planting season for major concerns, but that important deadlines are approaching.

Resnick: So, there's not any emergency alarms going off yet, but there is reason to be monitoring the wet weather throughout the Midwest. If there's not enough time to put a corn crop in, it could push more corn acres into soybeans, which do have a later planting window.

Smith: U.S. agriculture will have more opportunities coming up to keep track of planting progress.

Resnick: On Friday, we have the May WASDE report, which is the first WASDE report that has information on the 2024-2025 crop year. In addition to providing insights on the '24-'25 crop, we'll all be watching what they do with South American supply estimates, especially in light of recent devastating and tragic flooding in southern Brazil, in addition to crop disease issues in Argentina. So, you can all check out American Farm Bureau's Market Intel for analysis.

Smith: Learn more at fb.org/marketintel. Chad Smith, Washington.