Editors' Notebook

What a difference a year makes -- 365 little days.

At noon on April 10, 2013, temps in southeastern South Dakota near Freeman hovered around 30 degrees F. DTN Ag Weather Maps show that area received 1 inch of precipitation in the past 24 hours as of 7 a.m. That's measurable liquid, so it would equate to quite a few inches of snow.

On April 10, 2012, Lynell Hofer, who farms near Freeman, was planting corn. He remembers that a few days had already gotten up into the low 80s, temp-wise, last year. Here's the transcript of a phone message from Lynell, recorded Wednesday morning:

"We're in the midst of an ice/snow storm. Power is an issue; loaded lines again today. We could lose all our power.

"It's a little different than a year ago today; we started planting corn. We’re a couple weeks away today, I'm sure.

"I wish we could plant. You asked about forward contracting new-crop corn. I did contract a fair amount for September delivery, 'cause I usually can get by planting early and I do have a quite a few pivots, so we can get some out early. So I did contract some early.

"So we wait with the basis and hopefully that gets to be a positive basis by September."

Lynell was responding to a question I had asked a group of DTN readers about forward contracting. The members of the group have agreed to be my sounding board, answering questions, making suggestions, sharing comments. I am so appreciative for their input and am always looking for new brains to pick.

I called Lynell back Wednesday afternoon. He said his farm had lost power Tuesday night, but the lights were back on Wednesday. Unfortunately for about 2,700 others in his local power district (he's on the board), the same could not be said for them.

Lynell said he was busy trying to save calves, but with ice still falling and 4 to 6 inches more snow expected tonight, things were not looking good.

Lynell and his son farm close to 3,000 acres between them, a mix of corn and beans, with 2/3 irrigated and 1/3 dryland. "The dryland corn is what I planted the first day last year and it turned out to be the best corn I had," he said. "It helps to plant early."

For most of the Corn Belt, though, it's looking like early planting is slipping through our fingers. Perhaps best to start hoping for at least average planting dates.

If you have an email address and you'd like to join my reader advisory group, let me know: cheri.zagurski@telventdtn.com or call 800-485-4000, ext. 6402. Thanks to Lynell for the conversation!

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