Farmers in the top wheat state of North Dakota will not get all their intended wheat, corn and canola acres seeded this spring due to heavy rains and flooding.
“Sunflowers and soybeans will be the biggest winners in North Dakota,” as alternative crops to plant given their shorter growing season, said Jim Peterson with the North Dakota Wheat Commission. “If a producer has cattle – oats or a hay crop could also work.”
Peterson said he’s heard estimates that as much as 15 per cent of the crop acres may not get planted statewide.
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Farmers like to have wheat and corn in the ground by mid-May in southern North Dakota but will plant into late May, while farther north it is not unusual to have some planting through June 10, he said.
The deadline to decide whether to plant or take an insurance payout is May 31 in southern North Dakota and June 5 in the north. Dry weather last week allowed farmers to plant wheat and corn but it was estimated that just 15 per cent of spring wheat was seeded.
