Eastern Cornbelt:
Cool, wet weather slowed the fieldwork pace in the Eastern Cornbelt in late April, with frost warnings issued for parts of central and northern Illinois at midweek.
Similar conditions were reported in Indiana and Ohio during the week, with highs struggling to reach the 60s and lows dipping to freezing at some locations. An increased chance of rain was in the weekend forecast for much of Indiana and northern Ohio, with cooler-than-normal weather expected to persist into early May.
A hectic planting pace in mid-April pushed progress ahead of the five-year average for both corn and soybeans in the region. Corn planting as of April 23 was 18% complete in Illinois, 9% in Indiana, and 6% in Ohio, with soybean planting estimated at 15% complete in Illinois, 8% in Indiana, and 6% in Ohio. Ohio growers also had 61% of the oats planted by April 23, well ahead of the 37% five-year average.
Western Cornbelt:
While frost advisories and warnings were in effect for parts of central and northern Iowa at midweek, warmer temperatures and an increased chance of rain were in the forecast for the balance of the week and into the weekend.
Those factors were contributing to major flooding along portions of the Mississippi River in late April. River levels at Davenport, Iowa, rose to 19 feet on April 27, one foot above major flood stage, with levels predicted to reach 21 feet by April 30, nearing the record high of 22.7 feet recorded in 2019.
Highs reached the upper-60s across Nebraska at midweek, but a cold front was expected to bring increased showers and a chance of frost to some parts of the state later in the week. Spotty rains were also reported across Missouri during the week.
Corn planting as of April 24 had progressed to 10% complete in Iowa and Nebraska and 58% in Missouri, with Missouri tracking well ahead of its 18% five-year average. Soybean planting was also ahead of schedule at 16% complete in Missouri and 4-5% in Nebraska and Iowa, while Missouri’s rice and cotton planting had progressed to 63% and 1%, respectively.
Southern Plains:
Widespread rain and cooler temperatures settled over much of Kansas and Oklahoma during the week, slowing fieldwork but raising hopes for some drought relief across the region. Stronger storms were taking aim at Oklahoma by the weekend, with forecasts warning of potentially severe weather.
Severe weather was also tracking through parts of north-central Texas late in the week, with reports on April 26-27 of large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. Similar conditions were reported in New Mexico, where midweek storms brought strong winds and rain to parts of the state, along with snow at higher elevations.
In most cases, planting progress was tracking ahead of the average pace in the region. Corn planting as of April 23 was 72% complete in Texas, 24% in Kansas, and 2% in Colorado, with soybean planting estimated at 4% complete in Kansas. The Texas cotton crop was 18% planted by that date, while sorghum planting had progressed to 63% in Texas and 15% in Oklahoma.
With severe-to-exceptional drought continuing to cover a wide swath of the Southern Plains, winter wheat conditions were showing the effects. Wheat in the good or excellent categories totaled just 23% of the acreage in Colorado, 14% in Kansas and Texas, and 6% in Oklahoma, with poor or very poor ratings assigned to 39% of the crop in Colorado, 55% in Texas, and 62-63% in Kansas and Oklahoma.
“Wheat is headed in Oklahoma and southern Kansas,” commented one source. “This is early and indicates the wheat is under a lot of stress. Lots of acres out west have been zeroed out.”
South Central:
Potentially strong thunderstorms were in the forecast for Arkansas and Tennessee as the week progressed, with widespread rain reported in those two states and Kentucky at midweek. Forecasts warned of damaging winds and hail in the Memphis, Tenn., area on April 27.
Severe weather was also expected to track through southern Louisiana late in the week, with hail and an inch or more of rain possible. Strong storms brought hail and damaging winds to parts of Mississippi on April 27 as well.
Planting progress was ahead of average for most crops in the region, thanks to generally favorable weather and soil conditions in April. Corn planting was 36% complete in Kentucky and 49% in Tennessee by April 23, with soybean planting estimated at 16% complete in Tennessee, 19% in Kentucky, 34% in Arkansas and Mississippi, and 41% in Louisiana.
Cotton planting was 5% complete in Arkansas and Louisiana by April 23, compared with 1-3% in Mississippi and Tennessee. Rice planting was well advanced in the region, with progress estimated at 39% in Mississippi, 51% in Arkansas, 74% in Texas, and 86% in Louisiana.
Southeast:
Rainy weather was reported in the Carolinas at midweek, with forecasts warning of severe thunderstorms, hail, and damaging winds later in the week. Forecasts also warned of back-to-back storms in Virginia on April 27-28 and into the weekend, with flooding possible in some areas.
Wet weather was also in the Alabama and Georgia forecasts as the week progressed, with southern portions of both states bracing for potentially severe storms on April 27. A deluge of rain and hail was reported across east-central Florida at midweek, with reports of quarter-sized hail in some locations.
North Carolina growers had 52% of the corn and 4% of the soybeans planted by April 23, while cotton planting had progressed to 1% in the Carolinas, 4% in Georgia, 6% in Alabama, and 20% in Virginia. Peanut planting as of April 24 was 19% complete in Florida, 4% in Alabama, and 2% in Georgia and the Carolinas.
“Some corn is planted, and some tobacco, but most is held up waiting on some dry days,” reported one North Carolina source at midweek.