Crop Insurance Today - 8

15 percent. While the pace of planting slowed a
bit, 94 percent of the crop had been planted by
May 29, equal to 2015 but still two percent ahead
of the five-year average.
Cotton crop plantings got off to a slow start
and by April 3 farmers had only planted three
percent of the crop, running two percent behind
the five-year average but slightly ahead of 2015.
Plantings continued a similar pace continuing
to lag the historical average by two percent, but
slightly ahead of 2015, with 16 percent of the cotton crop in the ground by May 1. More rain fell in
May in the southern Great Plains slowing cotton
plantings and by May 29 farmers had only planted 59 percent of the nation's cotton crop, a full
10 percent behind the five-year average, but still
ahead of 2015 by two percent.
Soybean plantings progressed slower than
2015 by two percent, but were still ahead of the
five-year average by two percent, with eight percent of the crop in the ground by May 1. The
planting rate picked up nationwide during the
month and by May 29 73 percent of the nation's
soybean crop was planted, running ahead of
2015 by five percent and seven percent ahead of
the five-year average. However, wet conditions in
some areas of Kansas at the end of May, slowed
planting, much like 2015. Planting in Kansas was
27 percent behind the five-year average while Nebraska was nine percent behind.
The 2016 spring wheat crop plantings started
out three percent ahead of the five-year average
and only one percent behind last year, with 13
percent of the crop in the ground by April 10.
By April 24 the pace of plantings was well ahead
of the five-year average with 42 percent of the
crop planted versus 28 percent the previous year.
However, planting continued to lag 2015's pace
by eight percent. The trend continued in May
with plantings well ahead of the five-year average
but still lagging 2015's pace. By May 22, 95 percent of the spring wheat crop had been planted,
equal to 2015 and 18 percent ahead of the fiveyear average.
The USDA Crop Production 2016 Summary
reported 319.3 million acres planted to principal
crops, up slightly from 2015. Lower input prices provided support for corn relative to other
crops and contributed to increased plantings of
just over 94 million acres, up seven percent from
2015. This is the third most acres planted to corn
since 2000, exceeded by 2012 and 2013 with 97.3
and 95.4 million acres respectively. Increased
corn acreage and lower price expectations helped
8

MAY2017

Figure 4 Summer 2016 (Jun-Aug)
Statewide Precipitation Ranks, 1895-2016

Record
Driest
(1)

Much
Below
Average

Below
Average

Near
Average

keep soybean acres in check. The area planted increased only slightly from 2015 to 83.4 million
acres. Nevertheless, 2016 remains the highest
number of soybean acres planted in the United
States, continuing a trend of soybean planted
acres above 80 million that began in 2014.
The plantings of other oilseeds were mostly
down from last year with decreases in area planted to canola, sunflower, flaxseed, and safflower.
Planted acres for peanuts continued to trend upward with a slight increase in from 2015.
Other crops experienced an increase in planted acreage. For example, the area planted to rice
was up 22 percent from 2015 to 3.15 million
acres. Rice acreage expansion was fueled mostly by increased long grain plantings in Arkansas.
The area planted to cotton rebounded to 10.1
million acres from what was the lowest recorded
since 1983, in 2015 at 8.6 million acres. Relative
prices for other crops helped boost upland cotton planted acreage by 17 percent, mostly from
increases in plantings in Texas. American Pima
acreage increased to 194,500, up 23 percent from
2015, driven by increased plantings in California.
Summer 2016. The El Niño experience
began to give way to more average conditions
during the summer and most of the mid-section
of the country experienced warm, wet conditions
through August. In the eastern and western parts
of the United States, drier than normal and hot
temperatures prevailed (Figure 4). In the Midwest, favorable summer weather characterized by

Above
Average

Much
Above
Average

Record
Wettest
(122)

showers and lack of extreme heat provided excellent growing conditions for corn and soybeans.
However, some areas of the corn belt (South Dakota, Michigan, and Ohio) experienced drought
conditions.
In the South, excessive rainfall created flooding and crop damage in parts of Louisiana and
quality issues for some crops (sorghum, rice, and
soybeans) in other Southern states. At the same
time the worst drought in over ten years, along
with above average temperatures, plagued parts
of the Northeast and the interior Southeast states.
In the West parts of the coastal states continued
to experience drought issues while active rainfall
patterns provide some relief in the Southwest
(New Mexico and Arizona).
Figure 5 provides a snapshot of general
weather conditions at the end of summer 2015
and 2016. The Drought Monitor indicates that,
while the drought faced by California continued,
the rest of the Western coastal states had begun
to recover. In addition, the drought conditions in
the interior Southeastern and Northeastern states
had clearly become more extreme.
Most of the corn and soybean farmers experienced a favorable growing season in 2016.
These crops had high crop condition ratings of
"good" to "excellent" throughout the summer
and into the fall (Figure 6). The corn and soybean crop conditions were on par with those of
the 2014 crop and consistently better than 2015.
The cotton crop looked promising early on with

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today