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southern MN | PP is a good deal for farmers, maybe a bit too good as it is set up.
I find the early plant date of April 11th here in my neighborhood to be a joke, in my lifetime I've gotten oats planted that early maybe 5 times, and it can easily get way too cold for corn that early, probably would have only worked in 1988 and 2 years ago here in my neighborhood in my lifetime. I don't think the odds are very good at all of corn breaking ground planted before April 20th here in my local neighborhood.
Here we might get the ground to dry out for a day or two in early April, but the risks of cold weather returning, and frost still being in the ground a foot down, and spring rains coming and saturation that foot of ground badly is very real. Oats and wheat struggle with those conditions and they are much tougher.
Here in mid May, then even if it is cold, we have the expectation that it will warm up in 2-3 weeks and you plant if the ground is fit.
But the original poster says any time after April 11th in my neighborhood if a planter can go through the ground we should be planting, temperature is not a concern.
And that is wrong, here in my neighborhood soil temp that early is a very real concern. Perhaps in Nebraska the local temps and the PP early plant dates match up better?
They do not here.
A realistic indicator of when it is time to plant corn is tree leaves, or certain weeds sprouting. When the ground warms up enough for tap roots to start working or similar weed sprouts, then corn has a chance. You can push it a bit when we are in May, but one really needs to pay attention in April. Someone with just a calendar and no common sense isn't much of a farmer.
Paul | |
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Prevented Planting Thought
