Spring planting season is approaching across north central Iowa, but conditions in the field suggest farmers may need to hold off just a bit longer.
According to Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Angie Rieck-Hinz, areas north of Highway 3 have remained on the wet side, limiting field activity so far. Rieck-Hinz says subsoil moisture levels are still a factor as growers prepare for planting.
“We still need some moisture. So we don’t need five inches at a time,” Rieck-Hinz says. “We get an inch here and there going into our spring planting season. I think that will be greatly appreciated, right? We soak it in, we don’t run it off. It’s there and it’s available for our crops to use. Those would be the ideal conditions.”
Rieck-Hinz made her comments on a recent episode of the Extension Report podcast. She says as planting season nears, farmers should stay focused on one key priority: soil conditions. Planting into soils that are too wet can lead to compaction and poor root development, issues that can impact crops throughout the growing season.
She adds that while moisture is important, consistency matters just as much, especially when it comes to temperature.
“We want soil temperatures consistently warming and the weather we’ve had in the last two weeks has been very erratic, right? Up, down, soil temperatures are constantly going up and down. That’s fine for this time of year, but that’s not so great when we put seed in the ground,” Rieck-Hinz says. “Those temperature fluctuations can really mess with germination and then we get erratic germination and then we get erratic emergence and then we fight that battle the rest of the year. I know people are anxious. I do know there’s some corn in the ground, a couple of test plots. Interestingly enough, they go in the ground and then we never hear about them again. So I don’t think they’re successful. And I wouldn’t expect them to be successful when we’re planting at the end of March.”
Even with planting just around the corner, Rieck-Hinz says taking a little extra time to ensure ideal conditions can make a big difference for the season ahead.
Full segment below
