News

Don’t jump the gun on replanting after storms

A farm management analyst cautions growers not to overreact if some of their crops were recently damaged during severe weather.

Kent Thiesse is based in south-central Minnesota.

Parts of the state have experienced heavy rains, strong winds, and hail this month.

He tells Brownfield farmers can lose some of their plant populations and still achieve 90 to 100 percent of optimum yields.

“You can even get up to 50 percent reduction on a corn stand with only a 20 percent yield reduction.  And you could probably have up to a third loss on soybeans with only a 10 or 15 percent yield loss.”

Thiesse recommends a second or third opinion before deciding to replant.

“I do think it’s important, before you start tearing up fields, just to get an agronomist or crop consultant out there and go by some of the university guidelines and make some decisions.”

He points out most farmers won’t replant corn this late unless they plan to use it for silage.

For soybeans, Thiesse says there could be situations where it still makes sense to replant.