Drove thru Ohio and Indiana the last few days and noticed that only half the fields have something planted in them. Is there some type of a problem or is that normal. Back when I was in the military I drove across country three times. As I remember it all the fields were planted. Maybe I'm remembering wrong!?

Think things are later this year with all of the rain the Midwest has had.

You are correct...the possible answer worries me.

The fields near me are all planted.

Keith

Need places to put all the solar panels that are going to charge the EVs.

We've had over 12" of rain this spring in SE Nebraska. My BIL just finished planting beans last night. It is late but there's time.

Even the first cut of hay came off rather late this year, and promptly got rained on around here.

This, it has been very wet in Central MO. A lot of guys are making sure they can get their hay up dry. River is supposed to crest at 17’ today which puts it into the plowed ground

Might MO or the Muddy Miss?

A lot of fields here are planted no-till. You gotta look close to see corn and beans when they first start to grow.

They just planted the field next to me the other day it’s been wet here.

Beans? What crop was it last year?

We've got a couple of those in Grant county WI. IMO they're ugly, I'd much rather see corn,beans or alfalfa.

Neighbor next to me thought it was beans that was planted this year .

Too much rain. Same thing was happening here but a dry spell let most everything get planted. Just got back from a fishing trip to Wisconsin. Lots of unplanted and late planted fields there

Saw these everywhere in Indiana. Talk about ugly. Reminds me of a movie I saw once. It was about what earth looked like after we destroyed it. I think there were windmills in it moving and creaking.

We had 10" of rain last month and already over 2" this month. Hard to get into the fields. The guys that had planted early, lost a lot to flooding and hail. I wouldn't be surprised if the corn/bean/wheat prices going up this fall.

Is a windmill uglier than a coal smoke from a smoke stack? Lease prices for a solar farm are higher than farm revenue where I live. What is ugly to you may be pretty to the landowner. Looks like corn stubble around those towers.

Stuff is slowly getting planted around my neighborhood.

I had to drive up to Huntsville, Ohio yesterday. The entire drive was through cropland. The shortest corn I saw was at least knee high on me. Beans were shorter, but looked good. I didn't see a single field that was not planted. Lots of hay was being cut and raked too. Crops look good here.

Keith

According to the USDA as of June 2, 2024 91% of the corn in the 18 leading corn producing states is planted which is comparable to the 5-year average of 89%.

Bryce

I must have seen the 9 percent that wasn't planted.

Yea, I got the solar people wanting to lease my 100 acres for solar panel farm for $175000 a year. That's more than the land is worth. I'm not going to do it. I told my son inlaw to check into that before he sells the land when I start pushing up daisy's. That would be a nice little retirement income for my daughter and son in law.

Lease it? As in yearly?
That’s $750,000 per year?
Surely I misunderstand!!

Lot of that money is probably coming from the gov.

Claycreech, no you read it right, I typed it wrong. It's $175,000 a year. I'm getting old that's why I'll let someone else do it.

Whole darn country is gonna be solar panels. Farmers making basically nothing now being offered 50 grand for one field. Some will not like it, but that's hard to turn down.

You need one in your yard so the sound will drive u nuts (oh your already there, sorry) .
U can also pick up all the dead and wounded birds below it also!!

PS-without government subsidies it will never produce more energy than it took to make it. Good deal huh!!

It's ALL coming from the "government" - meaning taxpayers.

The amount of subsidies going to alternative energy sources pales in comparison to what fossil fuel energy companies receive.
Bryce

The International Renewable Energy Agency tracked some $634 billion in energy-sector subsidies in 2020, and found that around 70% were fossil fuel subsidies. About 20% went to renewable power generation, 6% to biofuels and just over 3% to nuclear.

Dear spike.

You better lease your land to whomever for an extremely large sum of money before the money dries up.
Love.
Long lost nephew

That is true. And NONE of them should receive a single dime in subsidies.

Yep, especially when it would take a hundred or more windmills to equal the energy output of just 1 coal stack.

Windmills are visual blight through sheer numbers.

Here in Illinois they just finished last week been raining every three days

When was the last time you saw coal smoke coming from a smoke stack at a power plant. The white vapor you see is not coal smoke

The "interesting" parts are in the fine print. Its seldom as good as what it first sounds like but maybe the solar warriors learned from the wind turbine people of 25 years ago and got Sniffy's minions to offer better deals. The final life of the contracts are usually the "best parts" (for the company).

America only gets 11.32% of of it's energy from renewable power generation, yet they get 20% of the subsidies. Not a good return rate.

Keith

It’s actually fairly dry here for this early in the summer. We’re needing a decent rain.
Were supposed to get 1” to 2” last night. We got 1/2” or less depending on location.
The haymakers are loving it though.

Yea that would be tough to turn down.
No doubt it’s going to ruin the land for wildlife, but they’re going to find somewhere else to do it anyway.
That yearly money would buy a lot of other land to enjoy.
I own 2 pieces of dirt. I dearly love both and I am very lucky to own them. Not sure I could sell either lol.

Same here I will not sell any dirt I own

rumor has it solar fields last 6-10 years and they are done along with a ground full of radiation