The stars will need to align for an orderly start to spring. In many cases, farmers were not able to apply fertilizer this fall. “For our company, we had about 40 percent of an average fall,” said Paul Coppin, general manager, Valley United Cooperative. “That puts the pressure on everybody this spring; we’re against the gun here and are hoping and praying for a nice early spring.” Farmers are encouraged to discuss their 2019 plans with their input suppliers, but “it’s hard to talk seed and fertilizer when they’re looking at snow and more snow.” The unrelenting snow has also impacted the farmers’ ability to haul grain to their local grain elevator. Coppin expects a small decline in soybean acres with most of the land shifting over to corn and wheat.
