Before the weekend rains in the central Corn Belt, farmers in Iowa were off to a record start to planting with 18% of corn and 11% of soybeans in the ground, well ahead of average.
That was true for Jeff Reints who says, despite the setback, he’s still on pace to be done planting by the first week of May. Reints started planting corn at his farm in northeast Iowa, near Shell Rock, on April 8.
“This is definitely our earliest start,” he says.
Reints, who farms 5,500 acres with his son, Clay, and Bruce Swinton, says early field conditions were ideal.
“The ground was just perfect so we felt like we had to take advantage of the conditions,” Clay says.
They strip-till phosphorus, potassium and a third of their nitrogen before planting corn in the spring. No-till beans are seeded simultaneously, which is a bit of a frost risk for both crops.
Jeff says, “We did have beans in ahead of the April 15 soybean crop insurance day, but both planters have been running,”
Getting over several thousands of acres dictates planting corn and beans at the same time, but Jeff says the risk is also worth the reward.
“A lot of times with these early beans, we see a 5 bu. to 7 bu. yield bump, especially if we get delayed and it’s mid- or late May or even early June occasionally.”
The same can be said for the yield potential on early planted corn, as Reints says the crop pollinates before the intense summer heat.
“With these modern hybrids, their yield punch is that flex of the kernel size, kernel depth or weight per ear. If you can still finish that hybrid early to mid-September when we still have some decent growing degree days, you can pack a lot of weight into that ear of corn,” Jeff explains.
Iowa farmers intend to plant 600,000 more acres of corn this year, and an early spring can often entice even more acres.
But Reints stuck with his normal rotation.
“Probably the reason why: I still have hope for this bean market. Corn does tend to be a little more profitable, but there’s some other factors. One of them is rootworm control — that can be a challenge,” he explains.
A soybean processing plant nearby and an ethanol plant across the road also tips his decision.
“We have a heck of a strong market right here in our backyard, so that makes it very, very convenient for us and profitable,” Reints says.
After 3" of rain over the weekend, the farm’s planters are parked with about 50% of their corn and beans in the ground. Reints is confident they’ll finish in early May, which is still ahead of normal and hopefully will give them a leg up if drought predictions materialize.
“This could be a challenging year, but if you plan for a failure, you’re going to have a failure,” Reints adds. “We’ve planned a full production, and we’ll roll with the punches.”
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