'Off to a good start': Ohio cash crops are growing faster than their five-year average

Zach Tuggle, Marion Star
·3 min read

Ohio farmers, for the most part, are thrilled with the way crops are growing this year.

"We seem to have gotten off to a good start," said Sam Boyce of the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association. "Plants are prepared, I would say, the best they can be."

Buckeye crops are growing faster than their average pace over the past five years, according to the latest USDA crop progress report.

The state's biggest cash crops, corn and soybeans, both are more than 10% ahead of schedule.

As of June 17, 94% of Ohio's corn had emerged, compared to an average of 83% reported during the same week from 2019-2023.

That same day this year, Ohio farmers had recorded an 85% soybean emergence, better than the 72% documented in the five-year average.

A farmer sprays a field of soy beans. Many fields throughout Ohio may have thick, leafy soybeans and knee-high corn, but a few had to be planted later and are still waiting for seeds to germinate and emerge.
A farmer sprays a field of soy beans. Many fields throughout Ohio may have thick, leafy soybeans and knee-high corn, but a few had to be planted later and are still waiting for seeds to germinate and emerge.

'That window made a big difference'

This year's progress can be attributed to opportune weather that gave farmers access to their fields as early as March.

"Having that window made a big difference and allowed us to do our job and try to do the best we can do with planting," Boyce said. "We were able to get that fertilizer in, get some weeds controlled − and that's kind of all pieces of giving us the best chance to make it through the year and make a successful crop."

Not every farm in the state benefitted from the spring weather, though, according to Tim Barnes, an educator for agriculture and natural resources with the OSU Extension in Marion County.

Many fields throughout Ohio may have thick, leafy soybeans and knee-high corn, but a few had to be planted later and are still waiting for their seeds to germinate and emerge.

Worse yet, some farmers were ahead of schedule, then had to replant after their early crops drowned.

"There's always areas that have too much rain in the spring, and some areas have too little ," Barnes said. "The weather is very changeable, and the patterns it gets in − and I'm no meteorologist − but it seems like if you get in that wet pattern, it may stay that way for quite a while. Same is true for a dry pattern."

Prime growing temperatures are forecast across Ohio

Fortunately, extended weather forecasts seem to offer good news for farmers across the Buckeye State.

Projections are that the state's fields will all be planted by the end of the coming week.

Once they've all germinated, crops should grow well.

"We got great subsoil moisture right now," Barnes said. "Right now, the heat, I think it always tends to scare farmers when they see 4 days over 90 degrees. But it should turn off."

Meteorologists are forecasting Ohio's heatwave to ease off to the mid 80s for the next 10 days, with nighttime lows falling to the mid 60s.

Those are prime growing temperatures that every farmer would happily welcome to their fields.

The only thing farmers can do now is hope for timely rains during the summer growing season.

"It's funny, the weather," Boyce said. "You look at the forecast, and I think it's changing about every hour as we go."

ztuggle@gannett.com

419-564-3508

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ohio corn and soybean crops growing well thanks to timely weather