The Beacon Herald - It's risky to start planting corn this early, but with farmers' fields at near ideal conditions for moisture and warmth expect to see a lot of planting happening by the middle of the month.

Barring a dramatic change in the weather pattern, that's the prognosis from St. Marys-area farmer Bill Denham, chair of the Perth County committee of the Grain Farmers of Ontario.

 "In my opinion it's still too early for corn. I don't know how early is too early because you never know until later on in the year what's right and wrong. But going with our normal times of late frost I would think that this is just a little too early for corn."

But Mr. Denham said by the middle of the month, if there's not much change in the weather, farmers should be good to go.

Farmers normally are ready to plant by the start of May, he said, but sometimes you can get a bit of corn in by the middle of April.

"I don't think I can remember too many years where April 1 you could be going if you wanted to."

Mr. Denham cautioned there's some risk in early planting but he said he wouldn't be surprised if some farmers go early and take their chances.

"It's like planting your garden or getting your spring flowers out. You might get away with it. But a garden at least you could cover with a blanket if you had a few nights of bad weather."

He wasn't sure about crop insurance if a farmer plants early and things go wrong. He did recall there was a debate around that a few years ago as to whether farmers had planted within in what's considered a normal range.

Still, Mr. Denham said most seed corn companies have been telling farmers to keep planting earlier. "I don't know whether they have been saying to get out this early or not," he added.

Some companies will supply more seed for replanting if there's a problem but if you have to replant you would still be out the cost of replanting.

"If we get another week with this kind of weather and the forecast looks good I would think that farmers would start to roll," he said.

Mr. Denham plans about 100 acres in corn this year. He'll also plant soybeans and wheat later on.

Soybeans would likely go in about the second week of May, but that too has been getting a bit earlier, he said.

Mitchell-area bean farmer Bernadine Wolfe said she's keeping an eye on the neighbours to see what they're doing.

She and her husband Warren have been planting edible beans for some 35 years and this year expect to plant romano, kidney, otebo and black beans.

It's way too early for planting coloured beans, she said, but she expects planting this year will happen before the usual start in May.

Unlike with corn, where replacement seeds aren't a problem, coloured beans are in limited supply, she said.

"It's still very early in the year."

At the Wolfe farm they have been "hiking manure" and getting things tidied up.

But Ms. Wolfe said she might plant a bit earlier this year.

"Only because we look at the neighbours and if they start, we're going to start," she said with a laugh.

Just back from a bean conference, she said it was interesting to hear farmers talk about field conditions.

"I think here in Ontario we have ample moisture -- the snow got away nicely so that it did not pond the wheat. The (fall/winter) wheat is in great shape and we're just keeping an eye to the long-term forecast."

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