Corn All Planted and Growing
April 2014
Trent Brandenburg is happy to have all his planned corn crop planted. He began planting on April 19, and the first field has already germinated. He finished planting last Thursday, April 24, planting about 400 acres per day with his modern equipment. Trent did not want to plant soybeans in April, so he is using the present time to get his equipment switched over to bean planting and then wait for field conditions to become dry enough to plant soybeans.
Rain has continued much of the last week of April, which is good for germinating corn, but not good for getting fields dry enough to plant.
Trent believes some of his corn germination has been slowed by cool nights the past week, but the upcoming first weekend in May promises warmer weather to hasten both corn germination and soybean planting.
More from The Field Report
Dry Weather Hastens Harvest
September in central Illinois was one-to-three-inches short of average rainfall. Trent Brandenburg took full advantage of the natural drydown and good field conditions to get his crops from the field to the bin. Trent has completed his soybean harvest. He [...]
Not Quite Harvest Time Just Yet
Trent Brandenburg's earliest-planted corn is "about a week away" from drying below 25% moisture. At that level, he could lower his drying expense at the grain elevator. "Now, if there's an incentive..., " Trent indicated that an elevator offering a [...]
Replanting Done, Corn and Beans Look Good
Trent Brandenburg has replanted his few ponded field "wet spots" as many as three times. The replanted areas are "thin," Trent observed, because "It has been too wet. But at least [replanting] will keep the weeds down." Trent is now [...]