Ohio farmers falling behind on planting season

By JD MaloneThe Columbus Dispatch  •  Wednesday May 18, 2016 5:18 AM

The past two weeks have stalled the planting season.

The cold and wet weather gummed up fields, making them unfit for sowing corn and soybeans, the state’s largest crops.

Ohio’s farmers have gotten just 34 percent of corn and 10 percent of soybeans in the ground as of Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That leaves corn 20 percentage points behind the five-year average for planting; soybeans are 18 percentage points behind.

Sounds dire, but it’s not, yet. Turns out, one way or the other, this sort of thing happens most years.

“It’s just one of those years,” said David Black, who grows corn and soybeans in Franklin and Pickaway counties. “Every year is different, and this year is different, too.”

Last year, farmers sprinted through near-perfect weather in the early spring, planting about 74 percent.....(To continue reading, click the link below):

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