Agronomists Outline How Midwest Growers Are Prepping for Planting

Corn planting may not have started in many of the top-growing states, according to USDA’s first Crop Progress report of the season released earlier this week, but there are still plenty of pre-planting activities and even some experimental planting happening across the Midwest.

Find out what agronomists in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, and Wisconsin have to say about how growers in their areas are gearing up for planting.

Iowa

According to USDA, Iowa farmers had an average of 3.3 days suitable for fieldwork the week ending April 6. The agency reported 0% corn planted for the state, which is normal for this time of year.

Syngenta Agronomist Logan Dinkla said of the few reports he’s heard of corn planting in his area, the majority has been to ensure planters are ready to go. The same goes for soybeans, which USDA has not begun reporting on yet this season. “More soybeans have been planted than corn, but that is still an extremely small percentage of acres. A few farmers have planted a field or two to make sure everything is ready to go,” said Dinkla.

Wyffels Agronomy Manager Eric Wilson said there are multiple factors under consideration by growers as they prepare for planting in his area. Wilson supports southern and northeast Iowa.

Wilson said on April 4, “Much of my area has been catching some rain over the last week, and for many areas it has been appreciated. With the current cooldown in the forecast, most are waiting until near the insurance dates in Iowa to begin planting.” He added that since rain hasn’t been excessive, he expects planting to begin near Iowa insurance dates as long as the temperatures increase. 

Jared Goplen, another Wyffels agronomist supporting northwest Iowa among other regions, said much of his territory received anywhere from a few tenths to nearly two inches of total moisture during the week ending April 6, but there were pre-planting activities — including tillage and applications of fertilizer and manure — happening before the precipitation. “So far, everything has been pretty normal,” said Goplen. “A lot of equipment sitting in yards, getting prepped and ready for planting to kick off.”

Illinois

Growers in Illinois had only 1.7 days suitable for fieldwork the week ending April 6. USDA reported 0% planted corn for the state by April 6, although 2% had been planted as of the same day a year ago.

Ryan Gentle, Wyffels agronomy manager covering much of the Prairie State, said it’s been too cold for most farmers to get started planting, but good headway has been made on pre-planting activities. Gentle said on April 7, “Up until the rain last week, ground conditions were pretty good, maybe too dry in a lot of areas of west central Illinois. This has allowed lots of anhydrous and field work to be completed.” 

Gentle said soybean planting is 1-2% complete for his area, and most growers have been able to at least get their soybean ground worked.

According to Syngenta Agronomist Phil Krieg, soybean planting was about 5% complete in late March in the southern tip of Illinois, and less than 1% was done through the rest of his district in southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana.

Krieg said heavy rains — anywhere from 5-12 inches — during the week ending April 6, plus tornadic storms in the latter half of March and into early April, have impacted a lot of the farms in his territory, with “damage ranging from minor to complete destruction.” According to Krieg, “Anything that was planted will likely need to be replanted.” 

He added that river and creek flooding throughout his area will reach record levels, and there’s been talk of prevent-planting in those areas if there’s more rainfall.

Nebraska

There were 4.5 days suitable for fieldwork in Nebraska the week ending April 6, according to the Crop Progress report. 

According to Syngenta Agronomist Travis Gustafson, “Conditions have been perfect for planting across the state. Top soil is dry with somewhat adequate moisture for germination a couple inches down.” Although USDA reported no corn planted for the state, Gustafson said some larger operators have started planting since they have a lot of ground to cover.

Gustafson said that planting in Nebraska could start up to two weeks ahead of normal based on the weather. On April 4, he said, “Once we get into the week of April 7, it looks like the forecast for a frost drops off significantly with a warm up coming towards the end of the week. This forecast will drive a lot of planting decisions and kick planting into high gear.” 

In the meantime, Nebraska farmers’ pre-planting activities are in full swing. According to Gustafson, “Everything has been rolling along very smoothly in Nebraska. Lots of fertilizing and strip tilling taking place if they aren’t planting yet.”

Minnesota

Minnesota farmers had an average of 1 day suitable for fieldwork between March 31 and April 6. USDA reported 0% corn planted as of the April 6 report. 

Tim Dahl, a Syngenta agronomic service representative in southern Minnesota, said snow and rain in the first week of April slowed field drying in his coverage area. But, according to the agronomist, “Wild weather swings are the norm in Minnesota the month of April.” 

He added that “Warmer weather in the forecast will get growers excited about starting fieldwork.”

Indiana

There was 1 day suitable for fieldwork for Indiana farmers the week ending April 6, due to an abundance of precipitation. 

Agronomist Chad Threewits with Syngenta said besides some experimental soybean planting in March, soybean and corn planting haven’t started in his region. According to Threewits, since his area received 2-6 inches of rain during the week ending April 6, “Planting will not start for a while now.”

Fields in Threewits’ area were already wet before the heavy precipitation, enough to prevent important fieldwork. “Very little pre-plant ammonia or herbicide burndown applications have occurred,” he said.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, 1.6 days of the week ending April 6 were suitable for fieldwork, according to USDA.

USDA reported no corn planting for the state so far, and Syngenta’s Wisconsin Agronomist Nick Groth said there has been only a “very small amount” of early soybean planting, as of April 7. He said a few growers were “just trying it out to see how it goes.”

Groth’s area has remained cold, and average spring precipitation has kept producers from getting much field work done. 

The agronomist said that as long as warmer and drier weather comes soon, Wisconsin seems to be on track for an “average start to the season.”