U.S. farmers planted the largest soybean crop on record and the smallest corn crop since 2010, according to the June 30th crop report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers planted 84.8 million acres of soybeans, which was nearly 11 percent more than last year. Corn was planted on 91.6 million acres, which is the fifth-largest corn acreage planted since 1944.
Unfortunately, record seed in the ground may not equate to a record harvest in the bin. On Monday, Ron Dreher of rural Adair endured the worst storm in 40 years of farming. Large hail, coupled with 6 inches of rain in 20 minutes and winds in excess of 80 miles per hour, decimated about two-thirds of his soybean acreage. Stories like his continue to be told.
For an update on what Latham’s Regional Sales Managers are seeing in their territories, click on “From the Field” and choose a region from the drop-down box on the right-hand side. Be sure to read tomorrow’s post on TheFieldPosition as we’ll cover effects of this season’s extremely wet weather on plant health.