After months of good news about Ohio corn, from high prices for farmers to an expected increase in production this year, the crop has encountered a setback.

Cold and rainy weather has put farmers behind schedule planting corn. Such delays can lead to lower yields at harvest.

Growers are advised to plant corn by May 10, said Peter Thomison, an agronomist specializing in corn with Ohio State University Extension. After that, yields can decline by 1.5 bushels per acre per day, he said.

As of Sunday, 38 percent of the state's corn crop had been planted, compared with 78 percent at the same time last year.

The delayed planting follows the early-spring news that Ohio's farmers plan to plant 16 percent more acres with corn this year, as the ethanol boom pushes prices and demand higher.

Corn prices began to increase dramatically last fall and have remained high. Ohio farmers selling corn to grain elevators in April received about $3.22 per bushel, compared with $2.27 in April 2006, a 42 percent increase, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

If corn is in the ground earlier, Thomison said, it often can escape late-season problems such as dry weather in August. Also, the crop will mature earlier, making it drier at harvest and lowering the energy costs to dry it.

If the weather cooperates, farmers probably can get most of their corn planted this week, Thomison said.

Dwayne Siekman, executive director of the Ohio Corn Growers Association, said that farmers in southern Ohio have had fewer delays, while the northern part of the state is lagging.

He said corn prices in the past few days seem to indicate confidence that the crop will be planted with few problems, because the price decreased about 15 cents per bushel.

mcuret@dispatch.com

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• Comparing the past four seasons ■C9