Dry Winter Causes Planting Date Concerns
By: Sophie Nielsen-Kolding WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: February 14, 2013
PEORIA- Farmers are hoping for more rain before planting starts in April.
Coming out of a drought, many leaned on insurance to buffer the loss of crops. The deadline to sign up for crop insurance this year is March 15th.
January started off 2013 with low moisture levels, but Peoria County Farm Bureau Chief Patrick Kirchhofer, said rains within the last two weeks have helped.
"I think there is some concern with a lack of snowfall that we haven't had. I think it's around four to five inches of snow, last year we had around 10 to 11 inches of snow and normal snow is around 22 to 24," he said.
Kirchhofer said it's still too early to determine when to plant, but in order to qualify for insurance, area farmers have to plant corn after April 5th, and soybeans after April 20th.
