View from the Cab: Early bird gets the...bean?

By: Kent Casson

It seems we are hearing more about getting soybeans in the ground sooner each year.

Does your operation plant soybeans before corn? Many farmers like us are running two planters at the same time to get both corn and soybeans planted in a timely manner. We all know that Central Illinois weather window can be fairly short at times.

I had the chance to visit with folks from the Illinois Soybean Association during the recent Soybean Summit in Champaign-Urbana about early planted soybeans. Jennifer Jones, research agronomist with ISA, said she supports the early planting idea for the most part.

“I’m not against it if they can get in and it works for them, then go for it,” said Jones.

Research supports growing beans early but there are factors to be cautious of. Jones encourages growers to explore all of their options.

“This year, I’m curious to see how it goes,” admitted Jones. “It’s been a pretty mild winter overall.”

Jones has witnessed success with April planted soybeans. Her family farms in Edgar County and often plants beans before most of the corn.

“It’s kind of just a thing to explore I think but it’s paying off for some people.”

Steve Pitstick is chairman of the ISA and farms about 50 miles straight west of Chicago in northern Illinois. He jumped on the early planting bandwagon back in 2012.

“My goal is not to plant early, but to plant when it’s fit,” Pitstick explained.

In a perfect world, Pitstick would like all of his beans to emerge on May 10 which is the last frost date for his area. He believes the sooner soybeans come up, the sooner he can maximize the growing season.

“Some years we get a break and can go in late March.”

For those like Pitstick planting soybeans early in March, it is a good way to see if all the equipment works for the season. If nothing else, it causes some talk at the coffee shop among the local farming community.

I have even heard about soybean planting trials taking place as early as February in years past but this year, it appears Mother Nature will not let even those researchers into the field early to experiment with soybean seeds in the ground.

Excess moisture is forecasted for Illinois in the coming weeks, even heading into March. Most of our precipitation has come in the liquid form this winter, instead of snow or all of the other frozen stuff.