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Wisconsin agronomist expects cold wave to have minor impact on planted crops

An agronomist is not expecting to see crop losses in southeastern Wisconsin where some farmers were able to plant before a winter weather blast.  Bob Berkovich with Pioneer tells Brownfield many farmers waited, but some were planting last week. “I’m still pretty confident because of that fantastic start that those seeds and plants experienced. You know, that’s the most critical part is that first one to two days. I don’t think you could have planted into better conditions or better soil temperatures.”

Berkovich says if last week’s plantings have started to emerge, he would expect some plant stress. “We might see a little bit of corkscrewing on some coleoptiles on corn, or you just might see some disease pressure show up in corn or soybeans that have been planted.”

Berkovich says even though the emerging plants will slow down, he’s confident the excellent planting conditions, seed quality, and seed treatments will help the crops recover when the weather warms up this week.