By Louis Sutton
AgVenture Product Manager and Agronomy Lead

In my travels the last few weeks, I have seen some very concerning planting going on.  I traveled to Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Missouri and witnessed a variety of conditions. Some planting has gone well where the corn has already spiked up out of the ground.  In other areas, I’ve seen pivots running just to wet the ground before planting because the ground was too dry and hard. I’ve also seen planters going in extreme mud, and planters running around and through snow drifts. All of these efforts to get the seed planted, even when conditions are favorable, would tell you to wait.

We have not had very many heat units until last week in many of those same locations, which means it is okay to relax and wait to get the crop planted until the conditions are ideal. Remember, the conditions you plant into – and the way you plant – set the growing season up for either success or failure.

More concerns I’ve seen over my travels include some frozen corn that was planted too early and it has been damaged. I have also seen corn that has turned purple because the weather has been too cold for proper growth. A local retailer was called in to apply extra fertilizer to the purple corn – causing an additional and unnecessary expense.  We need to remember these things as the summer and crops progress, and they will cause issues that need to be addressed later on in the season.

Remember, we make money two times a year in farming: planting and harvest. These are the times to do things right. To develop a planting plan specific to your location, talk to your AgVenture Yield Specialist.