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Soybean planting ahead of average in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Soybean Program’s director says soybean planting in his state is far ahead of average.  Shawn Conley with the University of Wisconsin tells Brownfield this is an unusual planting period. “Soybean acres are actually the most planted by this time of year than we’ve ever seen in the State of Wisconsin, which is pretty weird, based on the weather we’ve had the last two weeks. That’s because a lot of acres went in that second week and third week in April before we got cold and wet.”

But he says that weather has also delayed emergence for many farmers, and for his research plots. “I’ve actually had beans in the ground for 30 days and they haven’t popped yet, so, it will be interesting to see how well they responded over the last 30 days of this rough environment that they’ve been in.”

As more fields start to dry out, Conley says farmers will have to decide whether to plant soybeans or corn first. “The yield penalty for corn is going to start kicking in more so than soybeans, so kind of prioritize corn acres. I know no one would ever believe I’d be saying that, but if you look at it system-wide, you may as well get into corn acres and mixing in your soybeans at this point.”

Conley expects his team, and many Wisconsin farmers will be very busy planting by the end of the week.