View from the Cab: The good stuff
By: Kent Casson
Is there anything better than the smell of freshly worked soil and rain in the air?
Alright, maybe $7 corn but that’s a different story altogether. As I was working ground last Monday evening, I had to step out of the tractor for a moment to truly take in the spring season. There was nothing but the hum of the idled tractor and the breeze about to blow in some rain showers. This is what early May is all about.
The best thing about the evening was that we got done planting all of our corn before the rain moved in. It is always a relief to get a crop in the ground now we wait for just the right conditions this season in hopes of strong yields this fall. We only have a day or so of soybeans left so we are in pretty good shape aside from any unforeseen weather event happening.
It seems busy when it is happening, but planting season really does fly by. Not even a month ago, we were just thinking about starting to work ground if conditions were fit and here we are about finished with our 2021 planting. We often spend more time getting the equipment prepped and settings in the tractor correct than we do out in the field actually putting corn and soybeans into the ground.
Last week’s crop progress and condition report for Illinois showed more than half of the state’s corn crop was planted, compared to the five-year average of 49 percent. Corn emerged was at 14 percent. Soybean planting has reached 41 percent complete in Illinois compared to the five-year average of only 14 percent. Soybeans emerged have reached 7 percent.
Winter wheat headed was at 21 percent, compared to 28 percent on average. The condition of the wheat was 3 percent very poor, 3 percent poor, 26 percent fair, 56 percent good and 12 percent excellent. Meanwhile, the topsoil moisture supply was 2 percent very short, 17 percent short, 69 percent adequate and 12 percent surplus.
Markets continued their rally last week based on supply concerns and a number of other factors in the world. Many are wondering how high corn and soybean prices will go. We often see a spike in June and then fall back off but will that be the case this year? Last year showed us that anything can happen since prices started climbing at harvest during a time when they normally drop.
The only trouble with really high corn prices is all of the other prices that follow the upward trend – such as land costs, rent and inputs. Hang on because I think we are still in for a crazy ride here during the rest of 2021.
