My father was not a talkative man. There is only one true piece of farming advice that I remember, now a full 12 years after his passing. He said, “Farmers will always do the opposite of the year before if it didn’t work. They should do the same thing since no two years are ever alike.”
Last week I stated that many farmers were planting soybeans but not corn as we approached the end of April. Perhaps they had memories like myself that started in 2016. In my previous 34 years of farming prior to 2016, I had only replanted corn once before, about 10 acres. 10 acres of replanting in a lifetime would be worthy of bragging if it were not for 4 of the last 5 years.
My misery with planting and then replanting corn started in 2016. That year I had some spots in a cornfield that needed to be replanted. In 2017 and 2018 I had serious replanting, corn that was planted in the last week of April right before a cold, wet spell never emerged uniformly. Many of the seeds rotted, especially in the poorly drained areas of the field.
The only reason I escaped a repeat of that same fate again in 2019 was the fact that we could not plant corn until late May due to constant rains. My corn planted in late April in 2020 was once again stricken with a cold, rainy spell that required replanting. I became very skilled at the act of replanting the thin spots in my fields and I hope I never need that skill again. It almost seemed natural to invite the crop insurance adjuster to Thanksgiving dinner. He was like family at that point!
How many farmers were afraid to plant corn in the last half of April this year given the recent history of the last five years? Were my farming neighbors cognizant of the recent troubles with late April corn plantings and choosing to plant soybeans ahead of corn this year? There is some agronomic evidence that soybeans may be more tolerant of cold, wet soils immediately after planting.
I did not plant soybeans in April. I followed my dad’s advice and tried once again to plant corn in the last half of April. Finally, his advice appears accurate; the last two years will not be alike. It did indeed get cold during the end of April, but there was very little rain, and a heat wave soon reappeared. As a matter of fact, this April has been extremely dry. If April showers do indeed bring May flowers, we better start watering since Mother Nature has not done her part.
I have now finished planting corn and have already put my planter away. Perhaps I am tempting fate that I will not need to replant any corn this year. I will now concentrate on planting soybeans after the current rains give way to dry fields. Many of my neighbors may have soybeans up before I even get started.
Full disclosure. I have only put my bigger planter away for the year. I will have to hook up to my 4 row planter about 10 more times to plant sweet corn every 7-10 days and pumpkins a few times until about the middle of July. Also, yesterday the 28th of April did bring 2” of rain at the Will and Kankakee county line while most of Will County to the north was well under ½” of rain.
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