Some aspects of farming have changed in my lifetime. When I was young I remember the push to finish planting corn, hopefully by Mothers Day. After corn planting was done you would plant soybeans. If you were fortunate you were putting the planter away for the year by June. 50 years ago, I do not believe anyone planted soybeans before the corn planting was finished.
In those days, the majority of corn and soybeans were planted in 30” rows with the same planter. A farmer couldn’t even plant soybeans until they were done planting corn. In the 1980’s the no-till drill arrived on the scene. Many farmers used them specifically for planting soybeans without performing any fall or spring tillage. Farmers with a drill could now plant corn and beans at the same time if they had an extra tractor and driver.
During this time the corn planter kept getting bigger, going from 15 or 20 foot wide to 40 foot or bigger. It wasn’t long until farmers that planted corn with a 30’ or 40’ planter got tired of only having a 15’ drill for soybeans. Farmers started to replace the drill with the skip-row planter. The planter that was used for corn in 30” rows would have another row of units added for soybeans to plant them in 15” rows. In the 1980’s and 90’s, every once in a while, a farmer would be daring and plant soybeans in April while frost was still possible.
There is major difference in corn and soybeans for cold tolerance. The corn plant maintains a growing point below the ground until it reaches 6-10 inches tall. The soybean plant has a growing point that exits the soil at emergence. On May 25, 1992, Northern Illinois had a late frost. Many fields of soybeans were planted and up, and subsequently killed by the frost. The corn turned colors, fell over and appeared dead. Even though I had to replant all my emerged bean fields again that year, the corn with the growing point below ground soon had new growth and survived.
About 10 years ago a few brave farmers started planting soybeans at the same time as corn. The results were amazing. For many consecutive years frost has been absent in early May and these early planted bean fields have produced some amazing yields. Each year a few more farmers would risk planting soybeans at the same time as corn. This required two planters, but the yields and success of the previous years continued to verify that April soybeans were worth the risk.
This year it appears many farmers were willing to plant soybeans in April. Only days before the snow fell on April 20, many farmers were planting soybeans as well as corn. Luckily, almost none of those fields were emerged when the freezing temperatures arrived after the snowy spell. Some farmers have planted soybeans this year and have not planted any corn, yet. Next week I will explain why.
Another note about the changes in farming, back in the 60’s and 70’s, every farmer cultivated their corn in the spring after it emerged. It has been many years since I have seen a farmer using a row crop cultivator.
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