Dan Carpenter farms with family in Carroll and Ray counties. He is a fourth-generation farmer, raising corn, soybeans and cattle. He also owns and operates a Pioneer seed agency. Carpenter serves on the Missouri Soybean Association board.

A dry window finally broke open March 22 through April 4 for the first time in a month. With three straight years of late-March beans paying off, soybean planters rolled and a few corn planters. Steady showers coupled with the last round of storms and wind April 17 has put us out of the field for the last two to three weeks. First-planted corn and soybeans have emerged and look great overall. After getting back in the fields this week there will be a big hard and fast push to get a planting season that is recently considered “late” wrapped up ASAP. A good, dry week of 80 degrees and sun would go a long way.

A three-day window opened up for planting mostly corn acres in the area last week. Several good days were quickly followed by a regional shower, anywhere from 0.5 inches to 1.4 inches. Ground was just starting to get fit when a heavy 2.5-inch to 4-inch rain came through the area Sunday night into Monday. Corn planted before this last rain will likely be challenged in places, but time will tell. It will be a few days before we get back into the field, but the 7-10 day forecast looks promising to dry things out quickly. Last Friday I had the opportunity to be on a roundtable discussion with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins emphasizing the need for the administration to make meaningful action on a variety of topics including trade, biofuels and high input prices among others.

We were able to get back in the field last weekend. Corn emergence on previously planted acres has been spotty in places but, overall, so far looks decent. There will most likely be places that will need filled in. Spotty showers Monday night may put us on hold for a day or two. Hoping to be able to make a solid dent this week continuing to get corn and beans in the ground. Sprayers are trying to get caught up controlling early weed flushes from sporadic rainfall. Grassland and wheat acres are starting to head out.

A busy, dry week finally set in and planting pace has been steady. Conditions have finally shaped up for a long stretch here in the middle of May. Emergence has been overall decent on crop put in the ground sporadically in late April/early May.