The Struggles of the Season

May 24, 2024

Many farmers were able to start planting early this season due to warmer weather in April, but as with any season, there are/were still conditions that had to be dealt with.

“As we push the calendar closer to June, most of us have ideal conditions to finish planting now. Warm soil and plenty of moisture is what we want! However, if your field is still wet and conditions aren’t right, wait or your seed will struggle. You still want to watch the weather and don’t mud it in. Stands look beautiful on everything I’ve seen that has been planted so far for both corn and soybeans!” – Dale Longwell, Seed Specialist

“Even though we all have different situations, everyone is aggravated with the weather right now…just be patient. You don’t want to mud it in, or you’ll pay for it later on! We’re getting a late start to planting, but I’m not worried about switching to shorter season hybrids. There will be more moisture to deal with at harvest, but there is more yield potential when you stick with the hybrids you started with.” – Chris Linville, Seed Specialist

“This planting season has been a marathon of short sprints. Growers have been running hard when the weather allows. We had an excellent window in late April to get a large part of our crop planted, but this has created new challenges. Do we finish planting corn or start sidedressing anhydrous? Do we finish beans or get the sprayer running? There are only so many hours in the day and lots of work to be done. But the 2024 crop has gone in the ground in pretty good conditions. We have a great window for our remaining acres to get planted and get a start on in-season crop management.” – Brian Marlatt, President