Prairie Farmer Logo

Planting soybeans into a warm trend may help get the crop off to a better start.

Jill Loehr, Associate Editor, Prairie Farmer

May 23, 2016

2 Min Read

According to the May 15 Department of Agriculture crop progress report, 29% planted soybean acres is slightly behind the five-year average in Illinois. Rain and saturated soil keeps many farmers from finishing #Plant16.

Brian Corkill, who farms near Galva, said Mother Nature kept his planter out of the field for 13 days. Corkill finished planting corn on May 6 before switching to beans; rain events keep him from finishing. Corkill, like many farmers, is ready to be done.

bright_side_rain_delay_1_635995815370417461.jpg

Matt Montgomery, Burrus Seed sales agronomist, said planting progress may not be as far along as farmers would like, but offers a positive point: the 14-day outlook with 70 and 80 degree days may help get beans off to a better start. 

“I understand the nervousness, anytime you start pushing close to May with a ‘2’ and a ‘zero’ behind it, that does make you nervous,” Montgomery said. “But, in some ways, not being able to plant over the last week and a half wasn’t a bad thing.”

The rain and drop in temperature, Montgomery explained, is hard on soybean seedlings. “We haven’t hit that warming trend and plants are struggling a bit,” he noted. “Planting beans heading into 80 degrees, rather than 50 degrees, spells better news for that bean plant.”

Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois extension agronomist, said the average date for 50% of the Illinois soybean crop to be planted is May 23. In addition, years with early planting dates haven’t always been high-yielding years.

“Weather during the season is more important than when we plant,” Nafziger said.

Waiting to plant, Nafziger noted, may prevent soybean stand loss from heavy rainfall after planting and before emergence. “The chances of getting such rain don’t depend much on planting date, but the crop takes longer to come up if it’s planted early, and this increases the chances of getting rain before emergence,” Nafziger explained.

“With the cool, wet weather this May, soybeans sitting in sheds aren’t in much worse shape than beans in the ground - as long as we can get them planted within the next few weeks,” Nafziger said.

“Yield loss from planting delays is just starting to kick in,” Nafziger added. “If crops are planted by the end of May, there is still good, if slightly diminished, yield potential.”

And to get crops in the ground, Mother Nature needs to cooperate.

“We need some sunshine,” Montgomery says. “People will feel real positive about things after we get past this cold spell.”

About the Author(s)

Jill Loehr

Associate Editor, Prairie Farmer, Loehr

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like