It’s no secret that planting got off to a slow start this year. At the end of April, only 17 percent of the planned corn was planted in the 18 major states, compared with the prior five-year average of 27 percent. Iowa was 8 percent (average 18); Kansas 27 percent (35); Nebraska 17 (24) and South Dakota, zero (13).
Soybeans were right on their 5 percent average in the 18 states, and on average or slightly ahead the states we serve.
Many farmers and market analysts anticipate some fields will not be planted and others may require replanting, in which case it is important to:
- Notify your crop insurance officer the day you decide land will not be planted – or by the crop’s final plant date.
- Call your crop insurance officer before replanting so an adjustor can inform you of your replant options. Failure to obtain advance consent for replanting will result in denial of a replant claim. This is true even when you interseed or plant next to the original rows, or if representative sample areas have been left.
More information
Iowa State University Extension Economist Alejandro Plastina recently posted an article at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/html/a1-57.html that discusses choices if you can’t plant timely or if you need to replant.
It also provides many of the Risk Management Association language and regulations, and illustrates how insurance coverage drops as days pass after the final planting date, as shown below.

Iowa State offers a “Delayed Planting and Replanting Evaluator”; AgDM Decision Tool A1-57, at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/xls/a1-57delayedplantingevaluator.xlsx