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by Annie Cunningham

"I’m just hoping for a normal weather season this time around," said Eric Campbell, Trumbull County Farm Bureau member and producer of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay. "It’s seems like a long time since we’ve been dealt a fair hand by the weather."

Jim Beuerlein, professor of agronomy at Ohio State, said the long-term weather forecast doesn’t predict any extreme weather like farmers had to deal with last year. "Everything is weather-dependent. Farmers control 60 percent of the yield they’re going to produce, and 40 percent of the yield depends on the weather," Beuerlein said. "I hope Mother Nature helps the farmers out with the other 40 percent this year. The loss farmers experienced last year was completely because of weather."

Farmers may not get an early start in the field this planting season, but if the weather cooperates, farmers should zip right through planting, he said.

According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS), Ohio farmers intend to plant more corn, oats, barley and tobacco, while soybean acreage is expected to decrease.

Corn growers expect to plant 3.3 million acres this spring, 3 percent more than they did a year ago. Producers also are predicted to plant 4.5 million acres of soybeans, down 250,000 acres from last year’s record acreage of 4.75 million. Beuerlein said price forecasts are up for corn and down for soybeans. "Soybean acreage being down is not a major problem; it’s actually evening it out because it was so high last season," Beuerlein said. "Hopefully the higher price for corn will counteract the higher cost of nitrogen. As the cost of natural gas goes up, so does everything else."

Nationally, corn growers intend to plant an estimated 79 million acres of corn, which is virtually unchanged from 2002 but 4 percent above 2001. Expected acreage is up in the eastern Corn Belt as growers are switching back to corn after planting soybeans last year.

U.S. soybean growers intend to plant an estimated 73.2 million acres of soybeans, down 1 percent from last year and, if realized, the lowest planted acreage since 1998. This is the third consecutive year soybean acreage has declined in the United States.

Wheat acres will probably be at 1.1 million acres in Ohio, Beuerlein said. NASS reports show wheat up 140,000 acres. The state’s oats acreage in expected to climb 10,000 acres from last year to a total of 80,000 in 2003.

All wheat planted acreage in the United States is expected to total 61.7 million acres in 2003, up 2 percent from 2002. Winter wheat planted for the 2003 crop is 44.3 million acres, up 6 percent from 2002. Oats acres seeded and to be seeded for the 2003 crop year are expected to total 4.83 million acres, down 4 percent from the U.S.’s final planted acres last year.

Beuerlein said the first cutting of hay is off to a good start – pastures wintered well and are already greening up. Hay producers are expected to harvest a total of 1.49 million acres, unchanged from 2002. This includes alfalfa and all other types of hay.

Tobacco and barley acreage is expected to increase in 2003 with 5,900 acres of tobacco and 12,000 acres of barley.

U.S. hay producers expect to harvest 63.6 million acres of hay in 2003, down 1 percent from 2002. Burley tobacco, at 151,100 acres, is down 5 percent from a year ago and 8 percent below 2001 nationally. U.S. barley growers intend to seed 5.38 million acres for 2003, up 6 percent from 2002.