From the Field Crop Report for April 19

Spring fieldwork in underway. Farmers in western North Dakota are applying anhydrous and focusing on getting small grains planted.

There’s still snow in the ditches between Minot and Bismarck, so it’s evident that not all fields are fit for planting yet in North Dakota. Small grains are going in the ground in the southeast part of our state. One Latham® customer who lives north by Rolette said it might be mid-May before they’re able to get in the field.

Fog looms in Northeast South Dakota. Very little fieldwork and small grain seeding has been done here as soils are wet. Fieldwork is progressing in Central SD where moisture is lacking.

A view of some spring prep work from the driver’s seat in South Dakota.

Planting conditions have been ideal for small grains in South Dakota!! Corn will have to wait, but until then small grains are in full swing.

Preventative maintenance is underway near Gilby, ND for spring planting.

Rain showers have been falling this week across southern Minnesota, but the seed I’m moving around is under cover and dry.

Areas of the state were affected by winterkill on their alfalfa acres.  Pictured here is a good stand of alfalfa in southern Wisconsin.  It’s estimated that 75,000 to 100,000 acres of alfalfa in Wisconsin is suffering from some sort of winter damage.

As farmers wait for fields to dry out, there are still many farms that need to haul manure before planting can begin.  A farmer is loaded up with turkey manure headed to the field, attempting to beat the rain.

A semi backs up to the seed shed of a dealer in Wisconsin.  As the last bit of corn arrives, dealers are making sure to deliver seed to the growers before they hit the fields.

Seed sits in the shop awaiting dry weather to get planted.  Most of the state has been blanketed with rain over the past two weeks, and more rain on the way Wednesday afternoon.  Much of the state is waiting for the ground to dry out before working up any ground.  Depending on how much rain is received Wednesday evening, I expect tillage equipment and planters to be rolling this weekend.

This season we’re looking forward to conducting a variable planting rate and multi-hybrid research study for Latham Hi-Tech Seeds on our family farm near Spencer. Here my brother, Tim, and my six-year-old son and I are working on the multi-hybrid planter. Photo credit to my nephew, Dan, who’s studying Agricultural Systems Technology at Iowa State University.

We’ve been busy preparing our new planter, which is color coordinated. Blue indicates one particular hybrid and orange is another.  Blue supplies the odd rows of the planter and orange supplies the even rows.

Winter kill is evident in alfalfa fields across North Central Iowa due to ponding and ice cover. Check out these articles on The Field Position to help evaluate winter kill and to manage alfalfa based on winter injury.

A few units of seed has yet to be delivered as wet weather stalled planting progress here in North Iowa. Rain is in the forecast again this week for Wednesday and Thursday.

Farmers across western Iowa worked around rain showers to get seed in the ground. In this photo, LH 5096 VT PRO was being planted near Rolfe on April 11.

Latham® dealer Jenna Ricklefs making seed corn deliveries.

Latham® seed sorted and ready for delivery.

Latham dealer in Pella, IA discusses the benefits of using cover crops the last 3 years consecutive.

Pictured above is a great stand of alfalfa in western Iowa. Outstanding weather has contributed to the great stand is because of increased seeding populations. Research has shown a remarkable response to increased seeding populations.