Local farmers pleased with planting

SIBLEY – Area farmers have been making a nice dent in planting progress.

Ben Wurmnest, who farms with his father near Sibley in Ford County, got all of his corn planted Tuesday and is still waiting to plant soybeans. They have been spending time in the shop switching over equipment. The Wurmnests have seen a little bit of everything in the fields this spring.

“It was wet early on,” Wurmnest said. “Some of the ground worked up decent while some was a little rough, but overall it’s not too bad.”

Wurmnest feels he made the right choice to hold off on soybean planting prior to this week’s cool rainy weather.

In McLean County, farmer Brian Schaumburg has all of his corn in the ground and almost half of his soybeans planted. Schaumburg has observed nice soil conditions, even though the topsoil was starting to turn dry.

“We are off to a really nice start,” Schaumburg explained. “Some guys went full bore and some just kind of held back on beans.”

Most of the corn planted April 18 or 19 has emerged. Schaumburg’s area is about 90 percent complete on corn and 20-25 percent on soybean planting.