Many farmers could have fields left unplanted this year in northwest Missouri after continuous rainfall hinders the growing season.

“We continue to get anywhere from a quarter to an inch or two of rain and it’s sure put a damper on trying to get any type of field work done,” said Wayne Flanary, Agronomy Specialist with the Missouri Extension Office in northwest Missouri.

He said the outlook this year is not good for farmers still trying to get their crops in the ground.

“At this point in time it looks like we’re probably between 20 and 30 percent of corn preventative planted,” Flanary said. “As far as soybeans we probably have about 70-percent of our beans left to be planted.”

He said the deadline to plant corn is pretty much over.

“It’s getting late enough that most farmers are deciding if they’re going to plant they’re switching to soybeans,” Flanary said.

And depending on a farmer’s crop insurance, Flanary said the deadline to get soybeans in the ground isn’t far off.

“We really encourage people to check.  Each agency may have some specific guidelines they want to follow besides the overall framework of the crop insurance,” he said.

While it is possible to plant soybeans in July, Flanary said farmers would be seeing reduced yields at that point.

He said crop insurance is really the only saving grace for many farmers in the region this year.

“At this point that’s what they’re looking at is just insurance,” Flanary said. “Whenever it’s too wet to plant you just don’t have any options.”