Heavy spring rainfall didn't stop Indiana farmers from planting twice as much corn by the start of May as they had in 2015. They were on their way to planting a projected 2.6 percent more acres of corn than last year, despite a glut of the crop worldwide.
But now, their pace has slowed. Farmers only planted 8 more percent of that acreage last week, much less than most other states. Hoosier farmers are now down 5 percent from where they were a year ago.
Agricultural economist Chris Hurt says it's better to have bad weather now than in summer when the corn is growing.
"I think after this week, there's going to be some increased concern of the lateness of corn planting," he says.
He adds that this will be especially true if the forecast stays rainy through the weekend. Any corn planted after mid-May won't pollinate until late July, when conditions are dry and hot. Hurt says that could be bad for the value of the eventual fall harvest.