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Farmers in Upper Midwest waiting for warmer soils to begin planting
Many Midwestern corn and soybean farmers are waiting for soils to warm up before planting.
University of Minnesota Extension corn agronomist Jeff Coulter tells Brownfield soil temps at 3 to 4 inches deep should be at least 50 degrees and trending up.
“So if that soil temperature drops to around 40 degrees or lower within one to two days after planting, that’s not a good thing because we can have imbibitional chilling injury occurring, and that can cause problems with emergence.”
He says the 48 hours post-planting are critical.
“If it doesn’t drop to 40 degrees or lower within one to two days after planting, then we’re okay. And if it drops to that temperature say later (like) 5 days after planting, it’s not a big deal.”
Coulter says farmers also need to be cautious about soil moisture because there tends to be uneven emergence when planting too wet or too dry.
