Outlook for Nebraska's 2013 corn crop

The outlook for the 2013 corn crop in Nebraska is much brighter these days, thanks to good precipitation in recent weeks. Now it’s a matter of getting that crop in the ground.

Speaking with Brownfield on Wednesday, Nebraska Corn Board executive director Don Hutchens says it just needs to warm up.

“I think the ground temperature today is running in the low 40’s—and so it’s going to have to warm up,” says Hutchens. “But once the farmers get in the fields, it can happen very quickly.”

In 2012, Hutchens says, Nebraska farmers planted 70 percent of the corn crop in a three-week period.

“So if you look at what we planted last year—70 percent of that crop in three weeks—we literally can plant the whole corn crop in four weeks, if need be.” The March planting intentions report showed Nebraska farmers will plant 9.9 million acres of corn this year, down one percent from last year.

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