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Corn planting is behind the historical schedule in Nebraska, the result of rain and even snow in the last half of April, but not so much that farmers won't be able to catch up.

Farmers also may have a little more ground to cover than the season's first estimate of planting intentions indicated a month ago, said Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board.

"If weather cooperates, we anticipate 2 to 3 million more acres of corn,'' Hutchens said.

That would be on top of the 86 million acres nationwide reported in the Department of Agriculture's March 31 estimate. Hutchens said he expected a proportional increase in corn acres in Nebraska, which were first estimated at 8.8 million acres.

The additional corn acres would come out of what was expected to be planted in soybeans -- 74.8 million acres nationwide and 5 million in Nebraska.

Such a shift would dent, but not wipe out, an overall swing to soybeans this year. Earlier estimates from the USDA had shown a shift of 11.2 million acres from corn to soybeans.

Mindy Williamson, spokeswoman for the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and the Iowa Corn Growers Association, expects a small shift back to corn.

"Price will dictate some of that,'' she said, noting that corn prices remain strong.

Additional requests for fertilizer indicate that corn planting in Iowa may exceed the 13.2 million acres officially estimated, she said.

Little corn had been planted in Iowa as of this week. The amount wasn't even included in the latest crop report, which reported frequent rains, the heaviest in the north.

"Rains are appreciated, but the most important thing now is to get the crop in the ground,'' Hutchens said.

Corn has a longer growing season than soybeans and is planted first. If rainy weather persists, farmers must plant soybeans instead of corn.

Little soybean planting has occurred so far in Nebraska, said Brad Heinrichs, communications director of the Nebraska Soybean Board.

Typically, May 15 is the target date for corn planting to be finished. Last weekend's crop report showed less than 10 percent of Nebraska's corn crop had been planted. A year ago, the figure was 13 percent. The historical average for late April is 21 percent.

Hutchens doesn't seem worried.

He pointed out that after planting delays last year, U.S. farmers planted 21 million acres in the first week of May alone. That's what can be done with equipment that can plant 24 rows at a time, he said.

Williamson said there is
little downside if farmers have to grow soybeans instead of corn.

"I don't see any real concern about having to switch plantings,'' she said.

This year's Iowa soybean estimate is 9.8 million acres.

Hutchens said the most planting has occurred in western and south-central Nebraska, the driest areas of the state.

In Iowa, farmers in the southwest are getting their seed in the ground ahead of those in the rest of the state, Williamson said.