Corn Planting Prep Checklist
Farmers understand that the success of their crop begins with decisions made before ever setting foot in the field. There are numerous factors to look at when getting ready for spring planting.
Don’t Confuse Test Weight and Yield
Corn growers often mistakenly correlate test weight (TW) to yield. The two measures are actually only marginally related. Relying too much on test weight can cause growers to over- or under-estimate their yield.
Shattering Expectations
One of the questions Hedrick gets asked about 2022 most often is, ‘How did you choose the hybrid?’
“It started with a bunch of arguments between me and Clif,” he laughed. “We were at our commodity conference last year and I said, ‘Clif, we have this farm and the ground is really special. We’ve pushed it as hard as we can and we want to put a racehorse hybrid on it again this year to see how much further we can push it.”
Producing More Bushels
“We do a lot of field walking. As a farmer, the visual indicators of getting out in the field – seeing the crop conditions, weed pressure, disease pressure – really being able to see that with your own eyes, that is so valuable. Doing your own agronomy work, versus having standard scouting done by other people, helps us make better management decisions and see a higher return on investment. That’s why we walk so many fields.”