It looks like Mother Nature is finally going to cooperate in central Illinois next week.
If that’s the case, look for a lot of corn and soybeans to get planted as a result, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.
In this week’s Boots In The Field podcast, issued Wednesday, May 4, Ferrie offers a range of recommendations on what you might need to consider now.
Add Weight To The Planter. With all the rain events, even though they’ve been light in nature, Ferrie says the ground is getting hard and presents a challenge for field work.
“Growers are struggling with the wings on both their tillage equipment and planters wanting to float out. Some guys have been asking about adding weight-transfer systems to soybean planters to try to keep the wings from floating up,” notes Ferrie.
He says it’s a good idea – if you’re running a center-fill planter and you have the weight to transfer. If you’re running a box planter, most likely you don’t have sufficient weight to transfer. In this case you’re going to need to add weight to the wings.
“Some guys will use front-end tractor weights out there in the wings; others will use a starter tank on the wings and just fill them with water,” he says.
Another option is to hit the cornstalks with vertical tillage, to allow for better planting. Given recent wind events in central Illinois, Ferrie says to be aware of the wind potential to prevent blowing soil and stalks.
Consider Breaking Out The Rotary Hoe. As crops try to emerge they may need some help if the surface crust is hard, meaning you might need to run a rotary hoe.
“We always say ‘hoe before you know,’” Ferrie says. “When you know you’re already in trouble with the crust, and it’s usually getting too late to get the full benefit out of a rotary hoe.
“Just remember, with $8 corn and $15 soybeans you need to play every card you’ve got,” he adds.
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Strip-Till Seedbeds Need Attention. Ferrie is getting reports from farmers that their strip-till seed beds are not in good condition. If that is your situation, he says to consider using your planter as a row freshener.
“Set the planting depth in the shallowest setting, use a light amount of down pressure, and then use your row cleaners to prepare that strip,” Ferrie explains. “After the surface dries, reset the planter, come back and plant into that strip.”
Spring strip till preparation is getting a little risky at this point, he says. Running a knife this late in the season is going to set you up for clods and/or too dry of soil to plant into.
“I recommend removing the knife and using your strip tiller as a row freshener,” Ferrie advises.
Beware Of Salt Burn. Another concern he has is where farmers want to do spring strip till, use dry fertilizer in the process, and then plant into the strips in a matter of days to a week later.
“Let’s not forget about the salt in this fertilizer and its location with relation to where the seed is going to be,” Ferrie says.
“This is especially true for spring strip tillers applying dry urea in the center of the strip, a couple inches below the surface,” he adds. “When this urea goes through hydrolysis, the first product produced is ammonia, which will burn seed – especially with the rate and the concentration in the band right where we’re about to place the seed.”
Farmers sometimes then add more injury potential to the crop by using in-furrow fertilizer, increasing the risk of salt burn even more.
“Now. the problem with salt burn is you’re looking at two to three weeks before we can know what’s really going on in the stand. If you have to replant you’re looking at June,” he says.
Either Switch Crops Or Plant Both. Ferrie says given the forecast for warmer soil temperatures in central Illinois and the calendar date, anyone who can’t plant corn and beans at the same time needs to switch to corn.
“The cost of delayed corn planting will be higher than any gain on the soybeans at this date,” he says.
Monitor Early-Season Pests. Soybeans that were planted in test plots on April 12 have emerged and show some bean leaf beetle feeding.
“As slowly as these beans are coming up, we’re getting some stem damage right where the beans are trying to push through, and we’re losing some of the cotyledons,” Ferrie says. “Crop scouts be on the lookout for bean leaf beetle feeding, especially if it’s the only field in the neighborhood where the beans are coming up.”
Register For Farm Journal Corn And Soybean College. Registration is now open for the live event, set for July 26-27 in Heyworth. A one-day virtual event will be held on January 5, 2023. Learn more at https://www.croptechinc.com/cbc/
“Anyone who signs up for the live event will automatically be enrolled in our virtual event as well. For those who can’t make it to the live event, registration for the virtual event will open later,” Ferrie says. “With the border back open, it’d be nice to see our Canadian friends in person again.”
You can listen to this week’s podcast here:
