OGLE COUNTY — Spring planting is in full swing for farmers in Ogle County, with dry conditions allowing field work to be done in recent weeks, Ogle County Farm Bureau Manager Ron Kern said April 29. 

Ogle County farmers typically look to wrap up planting by June 1. Kern said that likely won’t be a problem this year.

“We are probably moving along at a record pace with spring planting right now,” Kern said. “We haven’t had many days that brought weather that kept us out of the fields. Planters have been just rolling constantly these past 7-10 days. I would be surprised if we didn't have everything wrapped up by Memorial Day. Research shows getting crops into the ground sooner helps with growth. Later planted crops can lose yield come fall.”

Spring work for farmers includes putting anhydrous ammonia on corn acres, along with getting equipment ready and having seed, fuel and fertilizer purchased and delivered. Some farmers spray prior to planting and some spray afterwards depending on their setup, Kern said.

Once out in the fields planting, Kern said days can get long for Ogle County farmers, though many will have the chance to get caught up to potentially alleviate late nights. 

While dry conditions have lent themselves to getting field work done, Kern would like to see rain in the forecast in coming weeks to help with the growing season.

“We’ve been dry,” Kern said. “We’ve been getting some rain in the past 2-3 weeks, and that helps. We just really haven’t had any significant rain. Recently it’s been a quarter of an inch or a half an inch. Some days it dries out the same day and tractors can get back into fields. We really could use a good soaking rain. Farmers like to plant into moisture so the seed will sprout. I’m not sure if we have those conditions now. We’re running out of moisture in the top two inches of soil.”

USDA’s prospective plantings report recently predicted a five percent increase in corn acres and four percent decrease in soybean acres in the U.S. this planting season. The acreage shift in Illinois is projected to be lighter with three percent fewer soybean acres and three percent more corn acres.

Kern said input costs for soybeans are less than corn per acre, but U.S. farmers have had a harder time selling soybeans due to market competition with South America.

“South America will be the king of soybeans before long if it isn’t already, and prices for our producers are tending to sag,” Kern said. “Even though input costs on soybeans might be less, the commodity costs when you sell them are getting a lot of pressure. The U.S. will definitely remain the king of corn. Because that's what we grow here. Corn costs tend to be more per acre to plant. Because of all these tariffs and the export market, I think this will be a very trying year for farmers.”

In an interview with the Rochelle News-Leader and Ogle County Life earlier this year, Kern expressed concerns about The White House’s planned tariffs and their potential impact on farmers, with tariffs historically affecting agricultural commodities.

Kern said that uncertainty is causing farmers to try to be as sharp as possible with their expenses this year along with utilizing every marketing tool at their disposal to try to capture a profit at the end of the year.

“I wish I had the answer to what this year will hold in farming and the markets,” Kern said. “China recently canceled a huge pork order it had placed. How many more orders of ag commodities like that will be canceled? These are the things that are typically targeted under a tariff war. During the last go around with tariffs in the first Trump administration, we conservatively lost 20 percent of the soybean market to the rest of the world. When you do these kinds of things and the people you're supplying can't get it from you at a reasonable price, they go somewhere else. And wherever they go becomes their new go-to supplier and you become an unreliable supplier. I don’t know if that will happen again. If we lose another 20 percent, that totals 40 percent and now we're talking real dollars and cents.”

Kern also hopes to see progress made by Congress on a new federal Farm Bill, which it passes every five years to set comprehensive agricultural programs and policies. The current Farm Bill, passed in 2018, has been extended for a year twice, most recently in December.  The federal Farm Bill allocates funding for crop insurance, disaster assistance and conservation programs for farmers.

“In the coming months, we need rain,” Kern said. “At least an average amount if not a little more. I’d love to see Congress get cracking on getting a new farm bill out because the current one has already been extended for long enough. And then I’d like to see some kind of quick resolution to this tariff war we're having. Because we need to get that done.”

Safety

Kern also asked Ogle County motorists to take extra caution in the coming weeks with planters and farm equipment on roads in between field work. 

“I hope the farmers stay safe out in the fields and in between and I ask folks on the roadways to please slow down around them,” Kern said. “Farmers don't want to be on the road any more than drivers want them there. They're just trying to get to where they have to go as safely as possible. Be very careful when passing farm equipment and please try to see what they're seeing before you pass them.”