Grain farmers in much of the Mid-Atlantic are taking advantage of dry weather to forge ahead with spring planting.
In many but not all areas, farmers are on time or a little ahead of their normal planting dates.
In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, some farmers started planting during a week of 80-degree weather in April.
Corn planted then is on its third or even fourth leaf, well ahead of a normal year.
But early-planted soybeans are bit uneven. A 2-inch rain caused some soil crusting, which beans don’t break through as easily as corn can, said Jeff Graybill, a Penn State Extension educator.
After the unseasonable early warmth, farmers waited through two weeks of cold and dampness until favorable weather returned.
“Last week they kind of got back at it with a vengeance,” Graybill said Monday.
Graybill even saw some tobacco planted in the field on May 12. That’s not quite out of Lancaster’s risk period for frost, so that farmer was taking a bit of a chance, he said.
With a stretch of dry weather, farmers have a nice window to take care of planting, forage cutting and manure hauling.
Graybill’s biggest concern right now is that farms keep getting rain.
Moisture is needed to activate pre-emergence herbicides and to keep corn on droughty clay knobs in step with the rest of the field.
If the soil gets too dry, farmers could see uneven corn stands, Graybill said.
Northeast Pennsylvania
Thanks to warm weather early in the month, planting began a bit ahead of schedule in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
Farmers in the area are at least half finished planting corn and soybeans, putting them about two weeks ahead of normal.
“People are pretty positive considering how things went last year with the drought conditions,” said Anna Hodgson, an Extension educator.
Zack Curtis, an Extension educator in Wayne County, said some farmers have planted corn at the lower elevations, but most have been holding off because of the lingering risk of frost.
Still, things are on schedule in Pennsylvania’s northeastern corner, where the primary crop is corn for silage.
“We typically have to wait two to three weeks longer than other parts of the state,” Curtis said. “It’s definitely abnormally dry here for May and the field conditions are fit, but we’re concerned about the frost risk for another week or two.”
The dry conditions have allowed farmers to get their tillage done, spread manure and spray no-till fields. But the area experienced a drought last year, and farmers aren’t eager for a repeat.
“There is a little bit of a concern, and we’re seeing it in our hay,” Curtis said. “For mid-May the hay is looking short, and we’re going to need moisture to push things.”
Western Pennsylvania
Jim Lindley could have gotten a head start on planting soybeans and corn a few weeks ago, but he decided to wait.
Instead, Lindley did maintenance on equipment and got his spraying done before pulling the planter into the fields where he farms around Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania.
“I hope it was the right decision,” said Lindley, who plants 750 acres, more soybeans than corn. “When we had nice weather early, we concentrated on getting the fields done on time instead of planting early.”
So far, Lindley’s patience has paid off. The winds during early May were calm, affording him plenty of time to spray. And when he began planting soybeans on May 15, the field conditions were perfect.
“We’re on schedule and the fields are dry. Even the wet springs have dried up,” Lindley said. “I think we’re sitting pretty nice right now.”
Source: lancasterfarming.com
Photo Credit: istock-chas53
Categories: New York, Crops, Corn, Education, Weather