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Southwest Indiana farmer expects to start planting next week

A southwest Indiana farmer says he plans to start planting soybeans as early as next week. 

Ben Kron tells Brownfield, “We’ve got a bunch of anhydrous put on and a bunch of ground worked down,” he says. “Last week, we got a couple inches of rain over a few days, but overall, the weather seems to be cooperating.”

Kron says they’re making some cuts due to the recent run-up in fertilizer prices.

“We’re knocking down some and there’s some guys that just aren’t going to be spreading fertilizer at all this year until it goes down some,” he says. “The $200 increase overnight, it definitely hurts. We’re going to be doing the bare minimum just to get by.”

He raises corn and soybeans in Vanderburgh County.

According to the latest USDA crop progress and conditions report, Indiana corn is one percent planted. Winter wheat is rated 67 percent good to excellent. Topsoil moisture is 78 percent adequate to surplus. Subsoil moisture is 65 percent adequate to surplus.

AUDIO: Ben Kron