State Corn Crop Headed for Trouble

Dry weather has the state's corn crop suffering.

A wet spring and a dry summer have wreaked havoc on Mississippi’s corn crop. MPB’s Cari Gervin has the details.

Mississippi farmers have planted 800,000 acres of corn this year – that’s the second-largest planting ever. But unless July turns rainy, that high acreage won’t lead to high yields.

“The yields may be as much as 50 percent less.”

That’s Erick Larson, a professor and agronomist at Mississippi State University. He says the never-ending spring rains meant most farmers got a late start on planting. And the current dry spell is especially hurting corn crops, which need a lot of water to thrive.

“There’s growers I know who have produced crops in Mississippi for 30 or 40 or 50 years that say this is as challenging as any they’ve encountered.”

One of those farmers is Mike Williamson.

“This has been one of our most difficult planting seasons, actually in a long time.”

Williamson’s been farming 35 years, so he knows. He’s standing just off a busy road in Water Valley, pointing to vibrant green rows of corn that tower over his head.

“Some our corn that we got planted early came on and grew off well and looks pretty good.”

But not all of it.

“We got it planted, and the rains began – developed a shallow root system, I’d say. We had some storms that actually blew some of it over. And then it turned off dry.”

The shallow root system from the late planting means the corn was especially unprepared for the weeks of dry, hot weather so far this summer. Williamson says he knows his yield will be low – though he doubts it will drop 50 percent. And now he’s worried about more than just the weather.

“And I noticed the market price of corn’s been falling every day for the past nine days.”

But as he walks back to his dusty blue jeep, Williamson just shakes his head and says that’s how it goes as a farmer – you just roll with the punches.

For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin.