Farmers have been busy the last few days trying to plant in some areas of the region. Near Centerville, South Dakota farmer Tim Ostrem was hit by drought last season and so he’s planting into some very dry soils.
He says planting is also behind normal with the cool weather and soil temperatures this spring.
Ostem is trying to stay optimistic about yield potential and as a result he’s sticking with his full season hybrids on corn.
Ostrem says he was nearly done planting last year at this time.
Progress continues to be slow in northeastern South Dakota. Goodwin farmer Todd Hanten says it’s been a frustrating spring as they are too wet in his area.
Hanten was nearly done planting last year at this time and he’s starting to get nervous about getting his small grains seeded. However, he says there is still time to plant row crops.
Farmers in the state were already expected to plant more soybeans this year with the high price and lower input costs. And Hanten says the weather may push even a few more acres that direction.
The USDA Prospective Plantings report showed record soybean and corn acres for South Dakota this year.
