Northwest Iowa — Farmers in our area have been making progress in catching up to the rest of the state when it comes to spring planting.
Paul Kassel is an Iowa State University Extension Agronomist who works in the Spencer office, and he says the late arrival of spring weather is one of the reasons they’ve been behind.
Kassel says one of the things they are talking with farmers about is whether they should stick with corn or switch to planting beans.
Kassel says there are some deadlines for crop insurance and other things that farmers need to factor into the decision on whether to plant corn or beans.
Kassel says the early spring snows were part of the problem — but he’s not sure why it has taken so long for the ground to be ready to plant. He also pointed out that just a little further east recent heavy rains have slowed progress, as well.
While most of the area has been too wet to plant, not every farmer has had to sit and wait.
Kassel says that can be the frustration of farming as one area of land might be too wet to work, and then you go a few miles and things are dry and looking good.
