Much of the crop in Ford County is in the ground and the remaining fields should get planted sometime this week or early next. As I drove through the county for my survey on Wednesday morning, conditions were starting to dry up just enough for traffic in many fields, although some fields in the southern part of the county were still a bit on the wet side. About half of the fields I drove by and visited had emerged crop, with many of those still in that VE stage. I found a few fields of early planted corn around V4-V5 and soybeans around V2-V3. The more advanced corn was showing some striping (interveinal chlorosis) in parts of a couple fields, potentially from nutrient deficiencies caused by cool temps and the subsequent lack of root growth and slow mineralization of soil organic matter. As conditions warm and root systems continue to develop, previous years have shown these symptoms subside with sufficient sulfur supplied by soils. Warmer temps and relatively dry conditions in the short-term forecast are welcomed and will help the crop catch up a bit from the cool May we’ve had so far.