Recent weather could impact crop prices

CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — The 2022 planting season is well underway for West Tennessee’s farmers, but with the wet and cooler weather, what can we expect for our crops?

“For the 2022 year, we had a lot of optimism surrounded by a lot of uncertainty for this upcoming year,” said Tori Marshall, the Farm Management Area Specialist for the University of Tennessee Extension.

And with multiple months of wetter and cooler than average conditions, farmers are seeing some of that optimism with crops beginning to take off.

“April, like I said, was very wet, cooler than average. Really the last week, and here the first week of May, we’ve just been plowing and going, putting in a lot of crops,” said Daniel Wiggins, a UT Extension Agent in Crockett County.

In the past four months, we’ve received almost 17 and a half inches of rainfall, which is over three times as much rainfall as we normally see by this time of year. While rain is great for crops, too much can be detrimental for freshly planted seeds.

“With the cooler and wetter weather, if you put a seed in the ground and it can’t sprout, it can’t germinate, it can’t come up, and the seed will rot in the soil. Then you’re wasting your time and wasting your money,” Wiggins said.

In West Tennessee, corn, wheat, cotton, and soybeans are the main crops.

Forty-two percent of Tennessee’s corn crop has already been planted, and others are on the way, with the drier and warmer weather returning.

“We need some warm, dry days for them to get that sunshine, but also that rain. We need to see some of that as well so that they can continue to grow,” Marshall said.

While some of our crop yield may stay local, the majority will be shipped nationally or internationally to supply other crop demand. Because of this, the weather across the country and the world can play a big part in supply and prices.

“We’re seeing a lot of concern in the Central Plains, and everything with the drought severity they’re having, that’s going to impact our overall supply when harvest season comes. That’s not leaving a lot of room of error for our grain supplies at the moment,” Marshall said.

With others seeing the possibility for limited crop yield across the country, that does not leave a lot of room for local farmers to have smaller crop yields. Before long, increased prices may set in.

“If we see delayed planting or problems with our harvest coming up in this 2022 harvest season, that’s going to lead to stronger prices,” Marshall said.

However, among the uncertainty that will come through the summer, officials still remain optimistic about the upcoming harvest season.

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