Ferrie: Don’t Rush Planting

During a time of uncertainty, you might be looking for some answers when it comes to the 2020 planting season. Farm Journal Field Agronomist, Ken Ferrie, assures farmers that despite a wet start, they can still achieve high yields if managed correctly.

To improve your planting season, he emphasizes that we need to learn from last year. The key? Be patient.

“What we can learn from last year is our planting dates. Push back, be patient, wait for the conditions, and be slow to switch out of your full season hybrids.”

As you reflect on 2019, don’t rush into planting. When it came to corn in 2019, there were approximately two good planting days in April, four in May, and the rest came in June. In conjunction with those dates, producers who waited to plant later in the season, saw the best yields, and Ferrie predicts 2020 will be no different.

“We’ve got a lot longer or wider window to plant corn than we probably ever had, meaning that we saw a lot of nice yields coming in June planted corn because it was planted in good conditions,” Ferrie says.

When it comes to beans, there’s more wiggle room, he adds.

“I don’t have a problem with pushing the soybeans on the front side and even push them in cooler conditions, especially as we try to get them to flower on the front side of the solstice,” Ferrie explains.

“So, I know thinking back to last year puts everybody on edge-- they don’t want to miss an opportunity,” he says. “But be careful when you make that first pass. That’s the one that we’ll be talking about in the end of June, July and August.”

Farmers took to Twitter to share their #plant20 highlights:

Read more crops news here:

Hold The Line On Corn Planting, Early Bean Window Open

John Phipps: The Future of Growing Corn with Waning Demand

I-80 Planting Tour IN: Prep Before ‘Chillier’ Temps Arrive