Ideal weather puts U.S. corn planting far ahead of average

[May 05, 2015]  CHICAGO, May 4 (Reuters) - Ideal planting weather for crops in the central U.S Corn Belt last week resulted in a sharp jump in seedings that bodes well for root production and final yields, state crop reports said on Monday.

Total corn plantings in the top 18 states were at 55 percent complete as of Sunday, up 36 points on the prior week and ahead of the five-year average of 38 percent by early May. Seedings in
the top corn state of Iowa jumped 54 points last week, rose 38 points in Illinois and 45 points in Minnesota.

Those three states produce more than 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop. The early seeding will give the new crop a head start on solid rooting to make it through a hot, dry summer.

"Over one-half of Iowa's corn acreage was planted last week, the largest percentage planted during this week in over 20 years," the Iowa crop report said. "Farmers in central Iowa led the way with 80 percent of their corn crop planted."

Soybeans, which are planted later than corn in the Midwest, rose to 13 percent complete, compared with the five-year average of 9 percent.

Further north, the spring wheat crop also had a significant advance in planting, rising to 75 percent seeded - up 20 points from a week earlier. Spring wheat emergence at 30 percent was also far ahead of the five-year average of 16 percent.

The U.S. planting pace was faster than many analysts estimated, especially the 36-point jump in corn plantings in one week.

"The record is 43 percent in one week back in 1992 - May 3 to May 10," said Joe Lardy, a grains analyst with CHS Hedging in Minneapolis.

Winter wheat conditions in the central and southern Plains were rated 43 percent good to excellent, up 1 point from the prior week and compared with 31 percent at the same time last
year.

The Kansas hard red winter wheat crop was 41 percent headed as of Sunday, up 23 points from the prior week. Oklahoma wheat was 90 percent headed and the Texas crop was 82 percent headed - all three states well ahead of the average.

(Reporting by Christine Stebbins; Editing by Peter Galloway and
Ken Wills)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.