By Rhonda Brooks and Darrell Smith
How can you reap higher yields this fall? Consider these tips from Farm Journal Field Agronomists Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer and other experts.
DON’T JUMP THE GUN WITH SPRING TILLAGE.
Ferrie says 80% of the compaction service calls he goes on each year can trace their roots back to the first pass the farmer made in the spring. Compaction put in by a field cultivator is a bad gift that keeps on giving all year long.
This spring, he advises checking conditions just under your tillage depth. It’s a practice he calls making a soil ribbon. Here are the simple steps to make a soil ribbon:
- If you run a tillage tool 4" deep, dig down under that to about 5" deep.
- Collect some soil in your hand and attempt to ball it up.
- Squeeze the ball between your thumb and forefinger to see if you can make a ribbon about 1½" long.
“If you make a ribbon, tillage will put in a density change and a compaction layer,” Ferrie says. “If you move forward with tillage and planting, adjust your yield expectations.”
MAKE SURE YOU CAN IMPLEMENT YOUR WEED-CONTROL PROGRAM.
In the rush to plant early (especially soybeans), beware of weeds you might not normally encounter when planting during the traditional timeframe for your area.
“You aren’t dealing with Palmer pigweed and waterhemp at this point, for instance, because they emerge later in the growing season,” explains Tommy Butts, University of Arkansas weed scientist.
Instead, early-season control programs need to be geared toward weeds that emerge when air temperatures are between 40°F and 70°F. These early weeds might require you to fine-tune herbicide selection, application timing and cultural practices.
LOOK AT WEED-CONTROL OPTIONS BEYOND HERBICIDES.
The advice you got for 2022 is still in effect for this season: Have a backup plan to your backup plan for herbicide products in 2023.
“Evaluate how you might use management and agronomic practices, including tillage, changes to seeding populations and planting cover crops, to supplement herbicide use,” says Cody Creech, University of Nebraska Extension dryland cropping systems specialist. “Some of these could help you keep weeds in check and get crops off to a good start.”
RESOLVE POTENTIAL LABOR AND EQUIPMENT CONFLICTS.
Want to plant early soybeans? First assess how you used field hours in past years. Keep one rule uppermost in mind: Never delay corn planting.
“Once conditions are ideal, you must plant corn,” Ferrie says. “If you miss the sweet spot, you could lose a ½ bu. to 1 bu. per acre for each day’s delay.”
To navigate bottlenecks, he says, you can plant soybeans, switch to corn when conditions are right and then finish soybeans. To plant most of your soybeans early, you will probably need to add a planter.
“Some farmers tell me the increased yield of early-planted soybeans paid for their soybean planter in just one year,” Ferrie says.
PLANT CORN BY TEMPERATURE, NOT BY CALENDAR.
Seed chilling can reduce ear count by 10% to 15%. It happens when seed lies in cold soil while it takes in water — the first 48 hours after planting.
“Chilling can occur when soil water is 50°F or lower, and it becomes really noticeable at 45°F and lower,” Ferrie says. “When seed takes in warm water, the cell walls are elastic. But with cold temperatures, cell walls tear as they expand. Some kernels will not germinate. Some will produce a shoot and no roots; others might produce roots but no spike. The common symptom is corkscrewing of the mesocotyl, so the plant leafs out underground or emerges late.”
FOCUS ON SHORT-TERM WEATHER.
“The soil temperature at planting, not later in the week, causes chilling,” Ferrie says. “That includes day and night temperatures. Check soil temperature in the morning to see if the night temperature held above 50°F. You can avoid chilling if temperatures reach 50°F in the morning and the forecast calls for it to stay there.”
This can make for a tough call when planting conditions are perfect, but the soil is too cold.
“Your decision depends on how many acres you farm and how many acres you can plant per day — a 10% to 15% drop in ears in April might be the lesser of two evils compared with planting in June,” he says. “If you want a perfect ear count, avoid seed chilling.”
INSPECT EVERYTHING INVOLVED WITH SEED TRANSMISSION.
This includes chains, sprockets, bearings, idlers and clutch assembly, including all of the components involved in seed metering. Don’t forget about the meter itself, Bauer says.
Other planter factors you should be sure to evaluate include parallel arms, row cleaners, no-till coulters, gauge wheels, disk openers, seed tubes, closing wheels and seed placement.
“Even if you have your meters calibrated, if there is any vibration in the system, it will have effects throughout the planter,” she says. “Everything is hooked together.”
Download a 19-step planter checklist to use this spring.
