Friday, May 24, 2013

The power of agri-technology - corn planting

The big fear this spring was the poor corn planting. Planting was not happening fast enough given the cold wet weather. Yet when the weather turned, the corn seeds went into the ground at a rate faster than anyone anticipated. 

On May 3rd only 12 percent was planted. By the 10th, 28 percent was planted and then the report for May 17 came out and the eye-popping number of 71% was reached. The new number this week may be closer to 90%. The farmers got up early and planted like there was no tomorrow. The reason for this strong number is that many farmers are now using better tractor technology and 36 row planters versus the normal 12 and 18 row planters. With GPS and large planter, you can get mor ein the ground if you have dry weather. 

The planting problem has been averted so now the market can move on to other growing risks. The focus will also be on demand and how the old crop will move off the farm.

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