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Weather throws wrench in crop rotation plans

A Red River Valley farmer’s crop rotation is in flux.

Vance Johnson grows corn, soybeans, wheat and sugarbeets near Breckenridge, Minnesota and says planting plans might be changing after a late April snow.

“The fact that wheat was actually at a decent price this year, I debated putting maybe more wheat in just to help spread the workload out. I tend to stay pretty consistent with what I have, but with the weather here the later we go wheat could potentially be the first one to get dropped out of the rotation.”

If that happens, he tells Brownfield those acres will go to corn or soybeans because his beets are under contract with a local cooperative.

“You own shares in the coop and then you’re allowed to plant ‘x’ number of acres per share, so every fall we know what we need to plant for acres. So we’re pretty well locked in on our sugarbeet acres.”

Johnson says while the moisture will delay planting, it will help recharge dry soils.