Texas Farmers Hustle to Plant Corn While Winter Wheat and Oats Begin Heading

Although corn planting progress hasn’t been officially reported in USDA’s Texas Crop Progress report published March 3, Gary Joiner, director of communications for the Texas Farm Bureau, said some corn has already been planted in parts of Texas.

Corn Planting Began in February

Joiner said corn planting began in early February for Texas corn growers in the southern part of the state. 

Rain in the forecast as March began pushed growers in central Texas to begin planting their corn crop in order to take advantage of the moisture, Joiner said. “Central Texas saw a high level of activity this week to get corn planted before the rain arrived.”

The Texas Crop Progress report said that much of Texas experienced dry, windy weather during the week of Feb. 24 to March 3. Rainfall ranged from trace amounts up to 1 inch with the Blacklands and the Upper Coast receiving the most rain, USDA reported.

For those that didn’t get their corn planted before the rain fell, Joiner said they’ll now need to wait for things to dry out to get their equipment in the fields.

So far, Joiner said there haven’t been any estimates of how much corn acreage has been planted, but he said that some Texas farmers are growing more corn than they have in the past due to the crop’s more desirable nature in commodity markets compared to other row crops. 

“We are hoping for a positive 2025,” Joiner said. “Very few of our row crop commodities are in a favorable position, so growers are trying to plant what’s best from a profit standpoint.”

Grain Sorghum Planting Preparations

In addition to corn, Joiner said grain sorghum growers have been active in the field. He said planting typically begins this time of year for grain sorghum growers in the Coastal Bend depending on the soil temperatures.

Winter Wheat Headed

USDA said winter wheat has headed in some parts of Texas. As of March 2, 8% of Texas winter wheat had headed. This is 1% behind last year at this time, and 4% behind the five-year average.

Texas winter wheat conditions were 4% excellent, 30% good, 33% fair, 32% poor, and 10% very poor.

According to the USDA, the Northern High Plains and the Blacklands growers were top dressing their winter wheat. In the Trans-Pecos area, the crop was growing, but not headed yet, while winter wheat was drying up due to a lack of moisture in the Southern Low Plains.

Oats Headed With Some Damage

Oats headed reached 5% for the week ending March 2, according to the Texas Crop Progress report. This is behind last year at this time by 3%, and 5% behind the five-year average. 

The crop conditions for oats were 1% excellent, 12% good, 26% fair, 25% poor, and 36% very poor.

According to the USDA, producers in the Cross Timbers and the Blacklands noticed damage to their oats due to recent cold temperatures.