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Weather slows planting for many Tennessee farmers

Cool and wet weather slowed some Tennessee farmers last week and freezing precipitation led to isolated damage to wheat, field crops, and fruit crops. Corn planting did jump to 48 percent complete, with 18 percent of the crop emerged.  Soybean planting is 8 percent complete, and 1 percent of cotton has been planted.

Northwest Tennessee farmer David Nichols says they’re saturated right now because of recent rains, but have had one of their best starts to planting in recent years.  “We’re about 75 to 80 percent planted on corn on our farm,” he says.  “We had just gotten a really good start on soybeans and we’re about 25 to 30 percent planted with those early-crop soybeans.”

He tells Brownfield they’re finally starting to warm up and that’s exactly what they need.  “The emergence on the crops that we’ve gotten planted has been very slow,” he says.  “But we’re seeing some really good stands of corn coming, but also soybeans.”

Fall-planted wheat is rated 74 percent good to excellent with 88 percent of the crop jointed and 33 percent headed.  Pastures are rated 60 percent good to excellent.  Eighty-two percent of the apple crop is in full bloom with 66 percent rated good to excellent.  Sixty-six percent of strawberries are rated good to excellent.

Ninety-one percent of topsoil and 93 percent of subsoil are called adequate to surplus. 

AUDIO: David Nichols, Tennessee