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Agronomist encourages farmers to ‘check three boxes’ when it’s time to plant

Beck’s agronomist Travis Coleman says there are several things for growers to keep in mind as planting picks up.

“I really want growers to think about making sure they’re checking three boxes when they go to the fields or they’re getting ready to plant. Number one is soil temperature. I want to see soil temperatures at 50 degrees or at least trending upwards,” he says. “I like to check those at planting depth early in the morning—that’s when we’re going to see our coldest period and then throughout the day it will continue to warm up as we get sunshine. So, check soil temperatures then.”

He tells Brownfield it’s important to wait for the right planting conditions.

“It doesn’t matter that the neighbor is planting,” he says. “Make sure that we can get that in the ground. Make sure the planter is working optimally and we can get that trench closed up correctly.”

Coleman says growers should also be mindful of the forecast.  

“I really like to look at the seven- to 10-day forecast. I know that changes sometimes every minute and it changes by what app or weather man you listen to, but ultimately I really like to see a positive trend. If we’re in the 60s today for a high, for example, I would like it to continue to warm up over the next seven to 10 days. That really gives us the biggest push out of that ground and allows the crop to get going for the best start.”

Coleman is based in southern Indiana.