February’s heavy rains may put a cloud over the summer corn harvest.

As more wet weather bore down on Central Texas, farmer Rodney Schmalriede said area corn growers require about three straight weeks of clear weather to get this year’s corn crop planted in dry, warmer soil.

Farmers need to get the harvest out by late June or early July before the worst of Texas’ summer heat hits, or the corn can’t pollinate well, and high temperatures will dry out the ears.

Rodney Schmalriede and other Waco-area farmers are dealing with a stretch of cool, wet weather that has delayed the planting of their corn crops.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald

That means planting must be done by mid-March. So between now and then, the soil has to be dried out, its temperature has to be above 60 degrees, and preparations, such as fertilizing, must be completed.

Those tasks are seemingly impossible with the frequent rains.

All is not lost, though, if the weather shapes up. And farmers shouldn’t fret just yet, said Gene Hall, spokesman for the Texas Farm Bureau.

The good news is there won’t be any water crisis for the growing season.

“On the plus side, we’re going to start this year with a pretty full water table,” Hall said.

Still, those who work the fields remain concerned about the excess moisture.

National Weather Service records show that for the first 10 days in February, 2.38 inches of rain have fallen on the area. Normal rainfall for the period is 0.72 of an inch.

Since Jan. 1, 7.67 inches have fallen, significantly above the normal amount of 2.62 inches. Today’s forecast for Waco calls for more rain — perhaps snow.

Rodney Schmalriede watches as last year’s winter crop of milo flows into a pit at a Land O’ Lakes feed mill.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald

“It’s real important to us yield-wise to get our crop planted at the right time, by mid-March. We lose yield after that point,” said Kevin Huffman, another McLennan County farmer.

Huffman said about 90 percent of his 3,100 acres is devoted to corn.

“We’re concerned about it. We’d like to be in the field,” he said.

Texas corn farmers could use a strong harvest this year after dry weather reduced the yield in 2009, said David Gibson, executive director of the Texas Corn Producers Board.

“A lot of it burned up in the fields,” he said. “Economically, it put some pressure back on the growers in the central and southern areas of the state.”

Other regions in the state, such as the Rio Grande Valley, also are troubled by the rains, Gibson said.

“I think all of the areas of the state have received some bene- ficial moisture, but we are starting to see delays in field work,” Gibson said.

“Depending on how this weather pattern continues, it could be a serious problem.”

bteeter@wacotrib.com

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