While the region's corn crop was off to a good start, strong winds and storms last week damaged some fields in western Kentucky. "There were quite a few acres damaged in Marshall County, and about 20,000 acres in Christian County," said Chad Lee, University of Kentucky extension agronomist. "And the rest of the counties have reported spottiness. Some fields are pretty bad, while others aren't. It was a unique weather event." According to Lee, things had been going pretty well. "Part of the problem was you had corn that was growing at a quick pace, which means it had plenty of moisture and nutrients and everything else," Lee said. "The storms broke over some plants at the node (joints on the stalk). With the fields so wet with rain, the wind literally blew the root out of the field, so plants were laying with their roots out of the ground. That's not normal at all." The corn that was snapped at the node is not going to recover. "If they had to get a crop in, they'd have to replant," Lee said. "But it's so late, it's pretty difficult for the corn to do very well. Probably, their best bet ... is just crop insurance." In Calloway County, "There were a handful of fields that received some damage, and one or two that I would say were severe," said Matt Chadwick, county extension agent. "Now a lot of that has stood back up. We do have some early planted corn that has kind of entered the reproduction state of tassling, which is pretty early, so the next two or three weeks' temperatures and the amount of water we get will be very crucial to determine our corn crop for this year." According to the most recent USDA Crop Progress and Condition report, 73 percent of the state's corn crop is rated good or excellent, as is 84 percent of the state's wheat crop. "Most producers have the majority of their winter wheat harvested," said Chadwick. "And, a lot of them already have their second crop beans planted back behind their wheat." The crop report indicates 83 percent of the state's tobacco has been set. "There was a lot of tobacco set in the last two weeks, probably close to 60 percent of our entire crop," Chadwick said. "So we're probably running over 90 percent (total), pushing 100 percent." Chadwick said. According to Trent Murdock, Graves County extension agent, there will likely be a yield loss to the corn crop in some fields. "It's very site specific, and management system specific," Murdock said. "Some fields have the potential for more wind damage with open land with no wind breaks." Murdock estimates almost all of the county's corn is planted, and most farmers in his area are close to being done harvesting wheat. "I've seen some very, very good yields in Graves County," he said. "Overall, the wheat crop has been pretty darn good. I think most of the people I've talked with are pretty satisfied with what they've gotten." A lot of tobacco is looking pretty good right now, too, according to Murdock. As always, everything is weather-dependent. "If you could tell the weatherman to order up just about an inch (of rain) a week, that'd be phenomenal," he said. Source - http://www.kentuckynewera.com