It’s been a very slow start to spring planting around here.
There are a lot of factors that go into the decision of when to start planting corn. Soil temperature, moisture, weather forecasts, field conditions… every farmer weighs those things a little differently.
But this year, there’s been one factor dominating almost every farmer-to-farmer conversation.
It’s cold.
The science says seed planted into cold soil can be stunted from the chill. Sometimes even to the point where corn planted several days later into warm soil will emerge first and look better all season long.
And honestly… that science is probably right.
Last week I talked about following the pack with our new fall tillage program. Well this week, I guess I’m back to breaking the mold again.
Because to me, that bit of information about cold soil is only one piece of the decision.
Last Saturday there were frost warnings in the forecast. It was overcast, windy, cold… miserable really. I hadn’t seen a single tractor moving in a field. Not one. No dust in the distance. No planters rolling down the road.
But then something changed that tipped the scale in my mind.
The calendar.
It turned to May.
And somehow… that was enough for me.
The plan was to start planting our best farm first. It’s a forgiving farm. Sandy soil. Almost always fit to work. Not heavy clay where everything has to be perfectly dry or you make a mess of the whole year.
There was also some rain in the forecast, but on this farm that wasn’t a huge concern either. Sandy ground handles big rains pretty well. Other farms can crust over after a hard rain and stop the corn from even emerging properly.
So really, there was only one issue.
It was cold.
But I made my decision anyway.
Now you might ask… what’s the big hurry? Why not wait until all the signals are green? Why not wait until conditions are perfect?
Well… I’ve been farming long enough now that I’ve lived through the other side of that decision too.
I’ve waited before.
And sometimes that short wait for “perfect” conditions turns into a very long wait. The rain starts… and just doesn’t stop. Before you know it, planting gets pushed into late May or even June, and statistically that does far more damage to yield than a few cold days in early May ever will.
That’s when you sit in the house staring out the window after a beautiful warm spring rain and almost feel sick to your stomach thinking:
“Why didn’t I go when I had the chance?”
So with all that rattling around in my head, Ezdon called around noon to ask what little project we might work on that weekend.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
“We’re planting corn,” I replied.
Now remember, Ezdon works at the John Deere dealership. He spends all day surrounded by farmers and opinions. Lots of opinions.
And honestly, I understood exactly where his next comment came from.
“Dad, it’s too soon. The ground’s cold. You can’t plant into ice cube ground.”
I knew exactly what he meant. I knew the science too.
So I told him:
“Yes Ezdon… that’s one piece of the decision. The other piece is the calendar.”
“It’s go time.”
Later that day after things settled down a bit, I explained more about how hard it feels when you choose not to act… and then suddenly can’t.
But I also told him something else.
There’s really only one way to truly understand it.
Someday he’ll have to sit in the house himself after a warm spring rain, looking out at a sunny field with no seed in the ground yet.
That’s a feeling a farmer never forgets.
And a funny thing happened a few hours after we started planting.
The neighbour pulled into the field beside us and started planting too.
Then another one just behind us.
And just like that… everybody was going.
So I guess sometimes I’m the starter…
and sometimes I’m the follower.
Honestly, that sounds like a pretty level place to stand in life.
Farmer Rod