By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – Nebraska corn growers expect to plant about 9.2 million acres this season.
Corn Board Executive Director Don Hutchens says planting will probably be underway in earnest this week. But Hutchens says some farmers are still working to get last fall's harvest completed, and fertilizer applied in preparation for this growing season.
Hutchens says soil moisture is good in areas where heavy snow fell this past winter. But he says a dry spring could change that. Hutchens says an abundance of corn in storage could also weaken prices this growing season.
Up to 26 percent of Nebraska's corn crop is used to produce ethanol. One bushel of Nebraska corn produces three gallons of ethanol and 17 pounds of feed for livestock.