(La Porte County, IN) - Some farmers have started planting, but many others are still waiting for their fields to dry out and temperatures to warm up in this cold, wet spring.

 

Matt Schafer of LaCrosse said he hopes to begin planting his corn and soybean crop before the weekend if Mother Nature finally cooperates. Schafer doesn’t have any standing water in his fields, but the soil is tacky, and the quarter-inch of rain in his area on Sunday certainly didn’t help dry things out.

 

He liked the season’s first 70 and 80-degree temperatures with breezy conditions this past Saturday and Sunday, but not the forecast calling for a return to 40 and 50-degree high temperatures until Friday.

 

Schafer was thankful only a slight chance of rain was predicted this week. During the brief warm-up, he saw a handful of farmers putting seeds in the ground for the first time this year.       

 

“My dad, who’s still active on the farm here, was quick to point out the neighbors were going the other day, and we weren’t, so, yeah, when things dry off next time, we’ll be ready to go,” Schafer said.

The spring rains have been spotty, with some areas not being hit as often with a significant deluge as other parts of northern Indiana or southwest Michigan.

 

Schafer said there’s only been light to modest rainfall in his fields. Still, the precipitation has been frequent, and the mostly-cool temperatures slowing evaporation have kept the ground too soft for tractors and other heavy machinery.

 

“In between showers, we just never had any warmth or sun to dry things out,” Schafer said.

Schafer said the cool weather has also delayed planting because the soil temperature must be in the 50s for seeds to germinate. Seeds in the ground too long are at risk of not producing.

 

Kassi Rowland, a partner at Tom Farms in Leesburg, said her fields were also too wet for planting before nearly a half-inch of rain came down on Sunday. She said the soil was soft primarily, but there were pockets of standing water in their fields further to the south.

 

“You don’t want to plant too many seeds in the mud. It doesn’t work well,” Rowland said.

Tom Farms has about 18,000 acres in Kosciusko, Marshall, Huntington, Whitley, Elkhart, and Noble counties.

 

Rain in Rowland's area has also come from storm clouds rolling in often without the drenching experienced in other parts of the region. She believes corn and soybeans can start being planted at her farm before the weekend if the early part of the week is mostly dry.  Rowland said she witnessed seeds going into the ground Saturday at another farm in Nappanee. The planting was done except in areas of standing water.

 

Rowland understands why some farmers risk planting now instead of waiting for more ideal conditions. However, she said there’s no reason to panic since planting is slightly behind schedule.

 

“At some point, you just have to go. You have to pull the trigger,” Rowland said.

Schafer agreed.

 

“We’re not what I consider to be extremely late. We’re still o.k., but we are a week behind where we want to be,” Schafer said.