Roth offers wet weather advice
CHENOA – Nic Roth, an agronomist with BCS Soil Fertility and Pest Management, admits it will be a few days before farmers can get back into the fields after a soggy week of weather.
“We need some sunshine and warm days,” Roth told The Central Illinois Farm Network this week.
If you already have crops in the ground, Roth suggests digging up a few plants to see what has germinated and assess what the plants look like. If there appear to be problems, there isn’t much a grower can do other than sit back and wait to see what emerges.
Newly-planted corn which avoids a cold rain for the first 36 hours should be alright, according to Roth.
“If you put it in and three hours later, it was a 35 or 40 degree rain, it might be a little hard on it.”
Roth is optimistic about soybeans which are already in the ground. He does not believe they will be impacted by wet, cool weather due to modern seed treatments. Anyone suffering a 10 percent loss in stand for corn is a totally different situation than a similar loss in soybeans since soybeans can take that type of an impact fairly easy.
“Our treatments we have now compared to 10, 12 or 15 years ago are a totally different ballgame,” Roth said. “They are really a lot better.”
Planting corn or soybeans first depends on each farmer’s individual situation, in Roth’s opinion. In some cases, it makes sense to put soybeans in the ground first. He recommends planting into whichever field is fit. Roth hopes growers try to remain as patient as possible before heading back to the field after the wet weather.
“Give it a few more days to dry out or maybe even just a couple more days. The first pass you make through the field is lots of times the most critical because that sets you up for the rest of the year.”
BCS employees have been busy applying fertilizer and chemicals and still have a fair amount of work left once the weather cooperates. Roth is located at the Weston plant and can be reached at 815-945-7076. BCS is also located at Arrowsmith and Gibson City. The phone numbers are 309-727-1500 and 217-800-1158.
