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Nebraska farmer waiting for warmer soils as battle against weeds has already begun

Northeast Nebraska farmer Anne Meis says she’s patiently waiting to get planting underway.

She tells Brownfield many neighbors have already started even though soils need to warm up. “Some farmers start with soybeans, but we start with corn.  Studies have shown that it needs a certain soil temperature for that seed to grow, so we’re going to hold off for a week to 10 days.”

She tells Brownfield the soil has recharged some this winter from back-to-back drought years. “We have had some snowfall and enough that we feel like we have enough moisture to get that seed sprouted.”

Meis says there’s an increase in water hemp and palmer amaranth despite on-going drought. “We’re more concerned than ever about weed pressure because some of those weeds did escape.  In the fall, we saw some weeds along the fence line that had thousands of seeds on there.”

She says Dicamba offers the best weed control options even though some farmers in her area have moved to a tolerant-soybean. “We still are.  There is a concern there. Are we going to get the drift? Are soybeans going to be cupped? We’ve had many roundtable discussions in our office or in our dining room about what that decision is.”

Meis grows corn and soybeans near Elgin where, she says, there’s been some relief from drought due to snowfall this winter.