Corn crop doing OK, officials say

Soybeans are not faring as well this year.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Farmers who held off on corn planting until mid-April are seeing positive results despite recent heavy rains and flooding in the northern part of the state, agriculture officials said.
Soybeans, on the other hand, are not recovering well. Across the state, fields are being replanted and farmers are worrying that more rain will increase the chance of crop disease or stunted growth, said Peter Thomison, a corn specialist with Ohio State University's Extension program.
Tests have shown that soybeans' sitting in 1 to 2 of water for up to a week can cut down on yield by as much as half, depending on a field's drainage and a plant's variety, an OSU Extension statement said.
Harold Wiehl, a farmer and Ohio Farm Bureau official in Wood County, said farmers were relieved that last week's rains weren't followed by especially hot weather. A hot sun combined with draining flood water would have cooked the young soybean crop, he said.
Last summer's experience
Last year, farmers got a jump on corn planting in early April so mature plants could take better advantage of long sunlight hours in June and July. But snowstorms and freezing weather in late April and May ruined those plans, forcing a widespread replanting of corn.
A summer drought also damaged the crop. Ohio corn farmers brought in just 143 bushels per acre in 2005, down from 158 bushels per acre in 2004, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.
This year, cautious farmers worried about more cold weather waited until the middle of April to begin planting, with almost all planting completed by May 5. Corn conditions statewide are rated at 73 percent "fair-to-good," the Agriculture Department said this week in its weekly crop progress report.
"It's been good overall, knock on wood, given the roller coaster weather we've had as a season," Thomison said.
Neil Clark, a farmer in Findlay, said his corn made it through last week's 5 inches of rain. Most of the state's corn plants have grown to at least a foot high, enough so that it wasn't damaged by flooding.
"The creeks were clear over the bank," Clark said. "But it's coming along good. We just need some hot weather."
Farmers and agriculture specialists are also noticing a greater presence of cutworms and other insects in all parts of the state. Fuel costs also continue to be a worry, Thomison said.
Joe Box, a farmer in Grand Rapids, said he's looking ahead to next month's weather, when corn plants grow into their crucial "tasseling" stage, when pollination takes place.
"We don't like hot weather when that happens," he said.