Patience is a virtue when it comes to planting corn. How so? The outcome of waiting until Mother Nature delivers warmer conditions – more heat units – are uniform stands and, ultimately, higher yields.
Of course, that’s easier said than done this time of year – especially when your neighbor is already in the field.
“The amount of patience we need to have before we plant corn is huge,” acknowledges Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Agronomist and owner of B&M Crop Consulting, based in Coldwater, Mich. “I think that’s one of the biggest things that we’ve learned over the last several years.”
How Waiting Pays
She cites the past two years of record corn yields in Michigan as one example of how waiting to plant paid off for growers in the state.
“We had very little corn planted here before May 15 last season, because the weather didn’t cooperate early on,” Bauer recalls.
But once growers there were able to get into the field and plant, the crop emerged in approximately seven days and formed picket-fence stands.
“Uniformity is so important for corn. It lays the foundation for higher yields,” she told Chip Flory, AgriTalk host on Thursday.
Bauer offers the following five suggestions on what you can do now to prepare for planting season that can also help you hold off going to fields and planting corn prematurely:
1. Make sure your corn and soybean planters are prepped. Bauer advises using a checklist to address each part of the equipment. Here’s an article that can help: 8 Planter Prep Tips for Spring
2. Consider whether your fields need a spring burndown treatment to address weeds. Bauer says weed pressure is a big concern this year, given the mild weather conditions farmers had over the winter.
“There are so many green fields out there from winter annuals getting an earlier start than usual because of the warm weather,” she says.
She adds that addressing weeds now can also help you address early-season insect pressure.
“Black cutworm moths will be looking for fields that are green where they can lay eggs,” Bauer says.
Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, offers his take on controlling weeds this season: 3 Tips For Better Weed-Control Outcomes This Season
3. Know the germ quality of your soybean varieties and seed corn. That can help you determine planting order or whether you need to check in with your seed supplier about making a product switch.
“There are some seed quality issues out there this year, so patience is even more important,” Bauer says.
Here are some additional thoughts on what to do: Test Your Seed Before Planting To Avoid Quality Issues
4. Do heat unit forecasts to help you know when to start. “By planting corn today, consider how many days it will take the crop to get out of the ground,” Bauer says. “This is simple math that anyone can do. Pick your favorite weather site, look at what the forecasts are and run the calculations.”
This article gives the simple calculation for GDDs: Estimating Growing Degree Days is a Simple Calculation
5. If waiting is wearing on you, plant soybeans. “If you’re wanting to plant something, we’ve been very successful planting soybeans earlier,” she says. “The ground still needs to be fit – don’t mud in beans – but if we lose a little uniformity in emergence we can gain that back from the earlier planting date.”
Want more insights on planting early soybeans? Check out this article: 8 Tips for Planting Soybeans Early - AgWeb
For more tips and insights, catch Bauer’s full discussion on AgriTalk here:
