Farmers are eager to get planters rolling, but Mother Nature is pumping the breaks right now. According to the USDA, producers are behind this spring, and they could put out the most expensive crop, but one specialist says that patience is key until soil conditions are ready.
According to Delk Crosier, “We’ve got these amazing planters nowadays, we can do multiple products, we can put something in the furrow, we can put something beside the row, and variable rate stuff, and so what we want to make sure of is that we don’t forget about the very basic, which the number one thing is soil condition. We plant when the conditions are right. Temperature drives the biological side of the soil, so your microbial community is basically still asleep until we get to 60 degrees or above.”
He says that wet conditions can lead to several problems later in the season, like sidewall compaction.
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