Cold rain stunts early planting in Arkansas

MATT MILES – MCGEHEE, ARKANSAS

Matt Miles is a fourth-generation farmer in southeast Arkansas who grows corn, soybeans, rice, and cotton.

These previous couple of weeks have been tough. From March 31 by means of Easter, every single day introduced some form of rain and nothing however clouds. The each day rain and lack of daylight created some flooding points that left about 35 acres of soybeans and corn beneath a few toes of water for about 60 hours. Fortunately, we didn’t have any tornados or excessive winds like among the farms round us skilled, however we did get the heavy rains.

 
Replanting goes to be a problem, it’s about 10-15% of a 1600-acre block in each subject that’s now chilly, moist sand. Our corn has not seen a dry day because it was planted on April 1. Our greatest setback proper now could be a block of corn that was planted between the tip of March and first of April. The higher ends within the deep sand have been sitting in chilly, moist soils since they have been planted. Now the issue is can we replant 10% of the tops, replant entire fields, or go away or not it’s? This determination will likely be made on April 17. Replanting isn’t all the time enjoyable, however a minimum of we’ll get some knowledge on yield drag from ultra-early corn in comparison with later planted corn that we will use in future seasons.

KELLY GARRETT – ARION, IOWA

A fifth-generation farmer, Kelly Garrett farms corn, soybeans, and winter wheat in western Iowa.

We at the moment are midway by means of planting. We began with soybeans on April 7, stopped for Easter, then went proper again to work planting corn and beans on Monday. We now have had a few points with the corn planter getting began, however have two planting corn now. Typical first day stuff.

 
The climate has been good for planting in our a part of Iowa. Soil temps have been hovering round 56° F. in western Iowa, and the seeds are germinating quick because of this.  We’re speculated to be receiving some rain this week, so we hope the soil temperatures don’t drop once more. 
 
We simply completed the small quantity of spring anhydrous utility we needed to do and now we’re ready for the soil biology to heal as a lot as attainable earlier than we start to plant on that floor. We now have been in a position to flip down our nitrogen charges upon utility and plan to show it up later within the season utilizing Source. Source from SoundAg is a grower normal to assist with the carbon to nitrogen ratio steadiness.

 
Our cattle are beginning to calve, so we’re additionally within the means of placing up fencing to maneuver the herds accordingly. There may be all the time one thing to do with the cattle.

KEVIN MATTHEWS – EAST BEND, NORTH CAROLINA

Kevin and his spouse, Cindy, personal and function Matthews Household Farms of North Carolina, Inc., Precision Nutrient Administration, Inc., and Deep Creek Grain, Inc. in East Bend and Yadkinville.

Management the controllable is a saying I usually say. I might have cherished to have had extra acres within the floor by this level, however circumstances got here up stopping it from occurring. It was a blessing in disguise, as we had a chilly spell at Easter with freezing temperatures for a number of hours. The coldest temperatures near the river have been accompanied by a chilly rain. If corn was within the floor, the yield would already be restricted from imbibitional chilling from the acute low temperatures together with the 2 inches of rain. The situation of our wheat had a lightweight frost with no injury to the flag leaf. The bottom dried up for someday permitting us to place the primary corn within the floor. One other rain got here by means of over the weekend and we hope to be full swing within the subject quickly.

 
An thrilling mission we’re wrapping up is putting in ADS (Superior Drainage Methods) double wall culvert pipe to maintain the planters and sprayers from folding as much as cross into the subsequent subject. Our Farms with a number of ditches in them create corners for weeds and additional mowing to maintain ditch banks clear, creating hidden price. By putting pipe, in some instances 200 toes, within the cross ditches you flip three fields into one. Most pipe sizes are 18 to 24 inches whereas being certain to permit 18 to twenty inches of soil above the pipe to make sure tillage exercise and never injury the pipe. To some it might not appear to be a lot, however to us saving half-hour on a farm, simply not having to cease and fold/unfold the planter and sprayers between ditches is big. This eliminates flip rows and makes harvest a lot simpler, too.

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