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Wisconsin farmer remains optimistic about December-planted soybeans
The Wisconsin farmer who planted some soybeans in December is optimistic about those beans but concerned about March weather for planting more.
Ryan Nell farms between Juneau and Beaver Dam, Wisconsin northwest of Milwaukee. He tells Brownfield he has some mud on top of frost, and he did try to dig up a few of the December-planted seeds for inspection. “We got maybe ten out of the ground but I didn’t feel real confident in how we got them out. We might have damaged them.”
Nell is putting the dug-up seeds in cups to see if they grow, and he is optimistic the December 10th experimental planting will do well. “My confidence level is pretty high on them right now, I mean, they have swelled up, they have taken on moisture. Now they just need to sit tight.”
Nell is more concerned about being able to get in the field to plant the rest of his soybeans in March, which has been his target in recent years. “The mud is in. Monday through Thursday is supposed to be snow and rainy type weather, still freezing at night, so it’s like, well, that’s not encouraging weather if you want to try to plant. I’m not getting too worked up yet. The bean planter is hooked up.”
Nell is also planning to experiment with some wider row spacings this year to see if he can combat white mold without a huge yield loss.
Nell’s December 10th soybean experiment covered about three acres of using three different seed depths after strip-tilling, with 140-thousand and 200-thousand plants per acre populations in silt loam soil with drain tile.
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