By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent HAMILTON, Ohio — Rainy conditions across the Midwest in April and May has proved to be detrimental for most soybean growers. But one Purdue University expert says the delay in planting may do more good than harm.
“This late planting may be a blessing in disguise,” said Ellsworth Christmas, Purdue extension soybean specialist. “Soybean seed quality is horrendous.
“Don’t get me wrong; there is some good quality seed, but an awful lot of it is just marginal. And that poor quality seed is at much greater risk to rot and disease, especially if it has to sit in the ground for several days.”
Many will attest that any delay in planting will result in a lower yield. The abundance of rain that has washed over the Midwest has caused planting delays in many states. Indiana and Ohio have 19 percent and 21 percent, respectively, of the intended soybean crop planted, according to the latest report from the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service. Combined, this means that nearly 7 million acres are not yet planted.
Purdue research shows that growers should plant soybeans between April 25-May 10 to obtain the highest yield potential.
“We found that planting after May 10 leads to a 0.5 percent yield reduction per day,” said Andrew Robinson, an agronomy student who examined the relationship between planting dates and yield. “And, planting after early June results in a yield reduction of 1 percent to 1.5 percent per day.”
Robinson and Christmas agree if this is the case, with new crop soybeans at $12 a bushel and an average yield of 50 bushels per acre, a 0.5 percent yield reduction per day is a loss of 0.25 bushels per acre per day, or $3 per acre per day. For a 1,000-acre soybean farm, that’s a loss of $3,000 every day soybeans aren’t in the ground.
As long as growers are prepared to plant as soon as the ground is ready, however, that may not hold true with this year’s weather situation, Christmas said. Robinson’s research showed that planting in late May or early June resulted in a 10-15 percent total decrease in yield.
“This could be attributed to having a shorter growing season, and the length of day probably played an important role at inducing flowering earlier and causing the plant to develop quicker,” Robinson said.
His two-year study confirms what farmers already suspected: Planting soybeans earlier, but not too early, produces better yields.
Butler County, Ohio, extension specialist Steve Bartels agrees with such findings but warns farmers in his county against planting after May 20.
“The 20th of May is the latest you want to plant beans,” he said.
“Every day after May 20 one loses one-half bushel on average of potential yield.”
Rain has played havoc with corn and soybean growers in southwestern Ohio. This part of the state is eight inches ahead in rainfall since Jan. 1 and four inches have fallen the past two weeks, making it difficult for farmers to get to the soil.
“Soybean farmers saw terrible yields in 2007 due to the drought,” Bartels said. “Normally Butler County has a 45-bushel bean average and last year we had half of that. With all the rain, I’m a bit concerned. We just need some dry weather.”
The largest soybean grower in Butler County is Jim Gifford, who grows 850 acres near Millville. And while he agrees with the Purdue research team, he insists the results are weather related.
“We’ll be hurting towards the end of May,” Gifford said. “There’s a chance of getting the yield we need by planting late, but we’ll need perfect weather. And right now we’re just waiting for the ground to dry out.”
In Greene County, east of Dayton, they’re battling wet conditions just the same. “Every day farmers will lose one-half bushel by planting after mid-April,” said Greene County extension specialist Gerald Mahan. “In some parts of our county the farmers are done planting, while others aren’t that far along.”
According to Mahan, 65 percent of the corn and 50 percent of soybeans have been planted in Greene County. |
