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Corn planting delays align with 2019, economist reviews prevent plant scenarios

With only 14% of corn planted nationwide at the beginning of May, the option of prevent plant has come into consideration.

Ag Economist Gary Schnitkey with the University of Illinois tells Brownfield in some states, corn planting progress is behind 2019- a year when many acres never got planted.

“We had 7% of corn acres planted in Illinois on May 1^st of this year and on May 5, 2019 there was 10% planted. The big one though is Iowa, which has 9% planted so far in 2022 and that compares to 36% in 2019.”

But Schnitkey says market signals make the prevent plant scenario this year much different than 2019. He says their planting decision module shows planting corn in central Illinois just after the final planting date for crop insurance is still more profitable than taking a prevent plant payment because fall bids are higher than the 2022 projected price of $5.90. 

“In 2019 it was the opposite. We were looking at commodity prices that had declined throughout the year and we had the trade war going on then. This year the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has created tighter grain supplies.”

Plus, he says there is still time to get corn in the ground before the final planting date, as planting can progress rapidly with suitable field days throughout May. However, he expects prevent plant will be a decision some farmers have to make.

“In the Midwest there are likely going to be farmers face the prevent plant decision. Hopefully not as wide scale as 2019, but some areas will.”

Schnitkey says farmers can use their down time to calculate how many acres they have eligible for prevent plant and use the farmdoc Planting Decision Module to look at scenarios specific to their area.

Final Planting Dates for Prevent Plant Crop Insurance in Brownfield States

• South Dakota– May 25^th is the final planting date for corn in most of South Dakota, aside from the southeast corner of the state where it is May 31^st. June 10^th is the final planting date for soybeans.
• Nebraska – May 25^th is the final planting date for corn and June 10^th is the date for soybeans.
• Kansas – May 25^th is the final planting date for corn in most of Kansas, aside from a handful of counties in the southeast corner where the date is May 15^th. The final planting date for soybeans varies across the state falling between June 15^th and June 30^th.
• Minnesota – May 25^th is the final planting date for corn in northern Minnesota and May 31^st for the rest of the state. The date for soybeans is June 10^th statewide.
• Iowa -In Iowa the final planting dates are May 31^st for corn and June 15^th for soybeans.
• Missouri – The final planting dates for corn vary across the state of Missouri; May 25^th for most western counties, May 31^st in the northeast, and May 10^th and 15^th for a handful of southern counties. June 20^th is the final planting date for soybeans in most of Missouri aside from a few southern counties where it is extended to June 30^th.
• Wisconsin – May 25^th is the final planting date for corn in northern Wisconsin and May 31^st for the rest of the state. June 10^th is the date for soybeans in central and northern Wisconsin and June 15^th for southern counties.
• Illinois – June 5^th is the final planting date for corn in most of Illinois, aside from a few southern counties where it is May 31^st. June 15^th is the final planting date for soybeans in northern Illinois, and June 20^th for central and southern counties.
• Michigan – The final planting dates in Michigan are June 5^th for corn and June 15^th for soybeans.
• Indiana – The final planting dates in Indiana are June 5^th for corn and June 20^th for soybeans.
• Ohio – The final planting dates in Ohio are June 5^th for corn and June 20^th for soybeans.
• Kentucky – The final planting dates in Kentucky are May 31^st  for corn and June 15^th for soybeans.