South Dakota farmers face slowest start to planting in decades

South Dakota farmers have planted a quarter of the corn they intend to this year, well behind the 90 percent they typically have in the ground by this point. 

The wet spring has also put soybeans behind schedule. Only 6 percent was planted by Sunday, a point when two-thirds of soybeans have typically been planted in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's May 28 crop progress report. 

It's the slowest start to planting in South Dakota in decades, said Erik Gerlach, a USDA state statistician. This year pushed 1995 out of the top spot for the slowest planting season. That year, farmers had 43 percent of corn and 25 percent of soybeans planted at this point, according to Gerlach. He noted that the percentages are a statewide overview of the planting situation.

"Up north, they've got more of the crop in than around Sioux Falls and west of Sioux Falls," Gerlach said.

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The South Dakota Department of Agriculture is hopeful that producers will be able to get through the challenge brought on by the weather this year, said department spokeswoman Maggie Stensaas. 

"The Secretary of Agriculture Kim Vanneman always says that what she's learned in her experience is that agriculture is cyclical, and we're in a downside and we're going to get out of it," Stansaas said. "They're strong, they're smart, and we will persevere. It's just a tough time to get through now."

Gerlach cautions that the crop progress percentages are based on subjective observations of what has been planted compared to what the farmer intend to plant, rather than the acreage number that'll be released by the USDA in late June. Farmers' intentions can change, and the planting percentages will likely continue to increase to reflect that farmers are planting whatever they can get into the ground.

The USDA's corn percentage is "pretty close" to reality, although there are places where farmers have been able to plant more, said Doug Noem, president of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association. This wet spring has been "unprecedented" for corn producers, he said.

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"Last year, we raised about 800 million bushels of corn in the state, and this year we're at 25 percent planting," Noem said. "I don't know if we get to 50 percent plant, we'd have 400 million bushels available, we're not sure." 

Noem typically has April 20 as a target to plant corn on his farm south of Watertown, but he began planting May 15 this year and only had three days of planting. He doesn't plan to plant any more corn, but he may plant some soybeans and then take prevented plant insurance coverage, he said.

A fair amount of fields probably won't be planted in South Dakota this year, Noem estimated. The planting window for crop insurance ended on May 25, although farmers can plant after that date. Some farmers may try to plant this spring to take advantage of the fertilizer they put down last fall instead of eating that cost, and those who use the corn for the cattle feed may plant, he said.

Farmers can plant soybeans instead of corn, but that market is "really upset" with the trade issues right now and hasn't been profitable, Noem said. Farmers would rather get their money from the market rather than government subsidies, he said.

"We're always concerned about the trade," he said. "We certainly don't like losing our markets to things that we can't control."