Growers navigate temp and precip roller coaster as planting begins in Minnesota
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
After decent planting weather the week of April 13, corn growers in south central and southwest Minnesota slowed their planting roll over the weekend as temps dropped down to the 30s and 40s, and precipitation arrived. With sun and fair weather at the start of this week, growers are going full speed ahead to take advantage of a window of dry weather.
“We didn’t really pick up much precipitation over the last few days, so I think a lot of people are trying to get as much planted as they can in the next three days, especially because there’s talk of a little bit of rain on Thursday,” Jeff Coulter reported. Coulter is an Extension corn agronomist with the University of Minnesota. He manages corn plots at the Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca. He said, “The corn planted between now and Wednesday should do great. The stuff planted before this weekend is still probably going to do okay, but it got pretty cold overnight Saturday.”
Temps of 26 degrees Fahrenheit were reported in some places.
Scott Winslow, who farms in Fountain, Fillmore County, in southeast Minnesota reported that conditions have been too wet in his area to get started prior to this week. Winslow serves on the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council.
He said getting started planting this week is possible in his area, even though rains had left fields not quite fit.
“There were some tornadoes about 20 miles from us (April 17), and some heavier rains and hail, but that missed us,” Winslow said. “Maybe (this) week we’ll get a couple of warm days. It wouldn’t take a lot for it to dry out.”
Starting this week would keep them right on the usual schedule, Winslow said.
Mark Enninga, a grower in Fulda, near Worthington, in southwest Minnesota, said field activities have begun but, “everybody’s kind of a little bit cautious on getting too far ahead of ourselves just from a consistent heat standpoint.”
Enninga serves on the Minnesota Corn Growers Association Board of Directors.
He predicted growers in his area would “roll hard this week.”
Enninga plans an unconventional change in his planting schedule, not in response to weather, but to try out an agronomic hypothesis.
“We’ve always thought there’s a frost risk for soybeans because the growing point, unlike corn, is above ground,” Enninga said. “We’re seeing some studies that show that there’s some strong benefits from a yield standpoint in having more days before summer solstice before that plant starts to flower. Our plan is to start with soybeans and then we’ll see how that goes,” Enninga said. If weather delays things for too long, they will switch back to corn before finishing soybean planting.
In northern Minnesota, growers are still waiting for the full ground thaw to arrive.
James Johnstad, who farms in the Red River Valley near Beltrami, Minnesota, said field conditions are shaping up well this season. “Given how flat our ground is, we’re used to dealing with significant overland flooding, but that wasn’t much of an issue this year due to the limited snowfall. Some late, heavy snowfalls brought needed moisture and helped even things out without overfilling the ditches, so overall, the fields are looking pretty good.”
When asked about planting timelines, Johnstad said, “There’s rain in the forecast toward the end of the week, but if we don’t get much, we’ll likely start planting sometime within the next week. We typically begin with wheat and sugar beets and wait for the soil to warm before planting corn. I’m not sure we’ll have corn in before May 1, but I’m hopeful we’ll at least have some seed for the other crops in the ground by then.
High fertilizer prices remain one of the most pressing concerns for farmers. Johnstad noted that they are thankful for there strip till machine, as their use of the machine allowed them to purchase and apply nitrogen last fall along with getting prepped for the short spring planting window. The practice also includes banding potassium and phosphate, which can be reduced when fertilizer costs are high and corn prices are low.
Shayne Isane (pronounced Isney) farms in Badger, near Roseau, just 20 miles from the Canadian border, and he agrees that planting is still a little ways off in the northern tier. Isane also serves on the MCGA board.
“Yeah, we’re still pretty wet,” Isane said. “We’re going to be a little while here. The forecast now for the weekend is cold and damp and going to next week sounds a little better. We’re definitely looking into May before we’re going to be doing any planting, even with good weather. So, we’ll see what Mother Nature holds and hope for the best.”
Shayne farms with his brother Jamie, and nephew Isaak, with another nephew, Elliott, also planning to join the operation. In addition to corn, their diverse operation also raises spring wheat, canola, perennial rye grass for seed, alfalfa and grass hay, and does cow-calf finishing. They also own a small construction firm and a gravel business.
“Our fields have a lighter soil and a rockier soil texture, definitely a lot more of a mineral soil (than the Red River Valley to the west),” Isane said, “But we still can get good crops with the right weather.”
Their family has raised corn for grain for the past two decades. Steadily improving genetics have made it a more and more productive crop over the years. In the northern tier, planting short season varieties, with maturities between 75 and 82 days, is a must. Still, with the good weather last summer and fall, they brought in a 200 bu/acre crop.
