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Central Michigan grower wraps up planting after rain delays

A farmer in central Michigan says he finished planting on Friday.

 Dave Williams of Elsie tells Brownfield, “We wanted to start planting soybeans the last week in April, but that didn’t happen.”

“It was just too wet for us, and then it would almost get to the point where we could do something, and then it would rain again,” he shares.

The USDA says 47 percent of corn, 37 percent of soybeans, and 96 percent sugarbeet crops in Michigan were planted as of Sunday, all quickly closing the gap with the five-year average.

Willimans says wheat is starting to look less waterlogged, and emergence should happen any day for corn and soybeans.

“The field conditions, I think, are excellent,” he says. “I mean, I haven’t seen such nice fields in a long time.”

Michigan wheat is rated 64 percent good to excellent.

Excess moisture levels continue to dissipate, with nine percent of topsoil and 10 percent of subsoil in surplus across the state.