2025 field work

[FarminCy]

Someday I pray that the powers that be will let owners rotationally graze their CRP acres, versus mowing (occasional fire is good)

Our pollinator acres would be super easy to fence off as would some of the crp buffers. I’d love to be able to bring in goats every 3-5 years. Cattle wouldn’t be best fit for how ours are laid out, but with how flexible it is to graze and move goats it would work great.

Have no interest in getting any myself but know some folks that could bring them in.

Although I will fully admit a big piece of the issue is just us slacking in maintaining them due to so many other improvement projects tied us up the last 4 years.

 

[BCClone]

I hope you didn't take it as criticism, the kids aren't back you guys get a day to relax, it will really nice. The Sunday after Easter convinced the wife to skip church and drive up to Walters MN for the Fireman dept breakfast, it was nice just to have a relaxing day. Enjoy your day!

Wait, what?!?!

 

[dafarmer]

No grazing on crp after May 15, even if they let you. Used to be they let you make hay on part of it after august, tho they made you pay for it in dry years.

 

[Stormin]

I generally agree with your view. We normally plant corn before beans, but recent research shows soybeans will start losing yield potential before corn based on planting date.

How much yield potential is one sacrificing on soybeans when planting April 20 versus April 12 in north central Iowa? IMO the risk of soybean damage is greater than corn due to the fact that the soybean growing point is above ground when the cotyledons emerge. Corn growing point remains in ground for a while. You’ll likely have fewer replants if corn is planted first. I’ll take my chances with corn first. April 12.

 

[BCClone]

I would like to see them do something with CRP to expand the cattle herd. It would help all of us if they could find a way to expand it.

 

[Iastfan112]

How much yield potential is one sacrificing on soybeans when planting April 20 versus April 12 in north central Iowa? IMO the risk of soybean damage is greater than corn due to the fact that the soybean growing point is above ground when the cotyledons emerge. Corn growing point remains in ground for a while. You’ll likely have fewer replants if corn is planted first. I’ll take my chances with corn first. April 12.

Also the corn drops off a cliff if planted late whereas the bean decline has generally been shown to be more gradual. I prefer to eliminate the risk of planting corn on Memorial Day rather than beans.

Ideally both make it in the ground in April.

 

[WISCY1895]

How much yield potential is one sacrificing on soybeans when planting April 20 versus April 12 in north central Iowa? IMO the risk of soybean damage is greater than corn due to the fact that the soybean growing point is above ground when the cotyledons emerge. Corn growing point remains in ground for a while. You’ll likely have fewer replants if corn is planted first. I’ll take my chances with corn first. April 12.

Soybeans when they first come out of the ground are quite tolerant to cold temperatures. Really not much of a concern unless you get down below 30 degree air temperatures with emerged beans

 

[swiacy]

I would like to see them do something with CRP to expand the cattle herd. It would help all of us if they could find a way to expand it.

Several reasons why the USDA limits CRP usage: farmers that grow & sell hay do not want competition that drops the price, some cattle producers don’t want more cattle that drops prices, hunters don’t want nests disturbed that reduces numbers, some USDA personnel think that touching established stands hurts the plant, some urban folks think that disturbing the stand will increase erosion and water quality. Unfortunately, I can verify these points of which all are questionable. The original intent of CRP came out of the 80’s low prices to reduce crop acres and increase prices, hence the requirement of only cropped acres eligibility. It has been successful and over time, other parties have taken the opportunity to get their interests involved such as pollinators, hunters, water quality enthusiasts, livestock producers etc. I laugh when experts warn of coming world hunger. Just release the CRP and see what happens to crop prices along with the improvement of transportation and storage in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

[Agclone91]

How much yield potential is one sacrificing on soybeans when planting April 20 versus April 12 in north central Iowa? IMO the risk of soybean damage is greater than corn due to the fact that the soybean growing point is above ground when the cotyledons emerge. Corn growing point remains in ground for a while. You’ll likely have fewer replants if corn is planted first. I’ll take my chances with corn first. April 12.

Theoretically the risk is greater because the growing point is above ground, but it actually take quite a hard freeze to kill soybeans across a large scale. Timing of emergence is also much less critical on soybeans than corn, which is why people are ok putting them into colder soil these days. Forecast matters a lot when deciding which crop to plant. If conditions are good on April 10 and the 7 day is warm, I would throw corn in. If you have 2 good days of warm and it's going to cool off, I'm switching to beans. Much less financial risk from an emergence and replant standpoint.

 

[BCClone]

Several reasons why the USDA limits CRP usage: farmers that grow & sell hay do not want competition that drops the price, some cattle producers don’t want more cattle that drops prices, hunters don’t want nests disturbed that reduces numbers, some USDA personnel think that touching established stands hurts the plant, some urban folks think that disturbing the stand will increase erosion and water quality. Unfortunately, I can verify these points of which all are questionable. The original intent of CRP came out of the 80’s low prices to reduce crop acres and increase prices, hence the requirement of only cropped acres eligibility. It has been successful and over time, other parties have taken the opportunity to get their interests involved such as pollinators, hunters, water quality enthusiasts, livestock producers etc. I laugh when experts warn of coming world hunger. Just release the CRP and see what happens to crop prices along with the improvement of transportation and storage in the Southern Hemisphere.

Yeah, I know there is a lot of politics behind it but I’m just saying there are things that can be done to help the cattle herd from shrinking. In my area there are a lot of acres that are quality pieces of land that have went into CRP.

 

[Cupped]

Soybeans when they first come out of the ground are quite tolerant to cold temperatures. Really not much of a concern unless you get down below 30 degree air temperatures with emerged beans

Agree only I think they can take nighttime lows into the mid 20s or colder. I've seen volunteer beans come up super early on an early season heat wave and withstand killing freeze temps ( below 28 for 4 hours I think is the definition?) and not kill unifoliate beans; not saying that they were banged up, but didn't kill a one.

Not sure there is much if any of a yield advantage planting bean first? I am sure the big advantage is seed salesmen getting the seed out their door before their competition poaches their orders. Also, I am sure there is a larger yield and moisture-drying cost penalty for late planted corn if you get on the wrong side of a rain gauge.

 

[WISCY1895]

Agree only I think they can take nighttime lows into the mid 20s or colder. I've seen volunteer beans come up super early on an early season heat wave and withstand killing freeze temps ( below 28 for 4 hours I think is the definition?) and not kill unifoliate beans; not saying that they were banged up, but didn't kill a one.

Not sure there is much if any of a yield advantage planting bean first? I am sure the big advantage is seed salesmen getting the seed out their door before their competition poaches their orders. Also, I am sure there is a larger yield and moisture-drying cost penalty for late planted corn if you get on the wrong side of a rain gauge.

Soybeans benefit a great deal from being planted early. Maximizes their growing season. Plus stand reduction risk analysis is another factor. Farmers can afford to lose a chunk of stand in soybeans before you are below maximum yield threshold. Corn doesn’t have a large margin for error.

 

[Agclone91]

Soybeans benefit a great deal from being planted early. Maximizes their growing season. Plus stand reduction risk analysis is another factor. Farmers can afford to lose a chunk of stand in soybeans before you are below maximum yield threshold. Corn doesn’t have a large margin for error.

The bolded is the key to soybeans. The more vegetative growth/nodes you can have prior to flowering the better. You only get a few weeks where the plant is putting 100% of its energy into growing so maximizing it is critical.

 

[Frak]

We have 2 days of beans left. With the forecast, I took today off. I figure it pays much more to be home on Mother’s Day than one extra day for beans.

 

[Stormin]

Soybeans benefit a great deal from being planted early. Maximizes their growing season. Plus stand reduction risk analysis is another factor. Farmers can afford to lose a chunk of stand in soybeans before you are below maximum yield threshold. Corn doesn’t have a large margin for error.

Sounds like Canada is going to become a power in soybean production. I do know producers in Manitoba who have had good success. They are planting soybeans now.

 

[Iastfan112]

Did something fun since we're done planting but not quite ready to start corn spraying.

 

[FLYINGCYCLONE]

Several reasons why the USDA limits CRP usage: farmers that grow & sell hay do not want competition that drops the price, some cattle producers don’t want more cattle that drops prices, hunters don’t want nests disturbed that reduces numbers, some USDA personnel think that touching established stands hurts the plant, some urban folks think that disturbing the stand will increase erosion and water quality. Unfortunately, I can verify these points of which all are questionable. The original intent of CRP came out of the 80’s low prices to reduce crop acres and increase prices, hence the requirement of only cropped acres eligibility. It has been successful and over time, other parties have taken the opportunity to get their interests involved such as pollinators, hunters, water quality enthusiasts, livestock producers etc. I laugh when experts warn of coming world hunger. Just release the CRP and see what happens to crop prices along with the improvement of transportation and storage in the Southern Hemisphere.

Here are more facts about crp. When it started you could put PARTS of fields in the program, not whole fields like today. Also crp payments have gotten higher than cash rents. I know some young farmers that lost their farms that they rented to crp . I farm a field that my sister, who owns it, and I would like to put a few acres in crp, but she would get more $/ acre if she puts the whole farm in crp. The program needs changes, but there are people other then who you mentioned that don’t want that.

 

[Marcelason78]

Here are more facts about crp. When it started you could put PARTS of fields in the program, not whole fields like today. Also crp payments have gotten higher than cash rents...

I don’t farm so IDK, but what kind of numbers are we talking about here?

 

[FLYINGCYCLONE]

We were going to do about 5-6 acres in the back corner of the field that has 5-7% slope to a creek. That is worth $250 an acre. A neighbor put in 30-35 acres, $300 an acre.

 

[cycloner29]

We have 2 days of beans left. With the forecast, I took today off. I figure it pays much more to be home on Mother’s Day than one extra day for beans.

Isn’t the old saying, “You work on Sunday….you pay for it on Monday.”

Growing up it seemed to work that way.