We got back in fields Wednesday evening. It has been slow going, and patience is wearing thin. Admittedly, we have pushed the envelope a bit. Conditions were better when we were planting a month ago. We will have soybeans done tomorrow, and corn possibly on Tuesday.

So, here it is, nearly in real-time problem solving. This field (photo) was scouted on my Sunday afternoon drive. What do you do with this?

This was representative of the corn we planted on April 30^th. Thankfully we got rained out early in the day and only planted about 80 acres. Only a few acres from the day before has struggled. What a difference 24 hours makes.

Here is the information we have creating the dilemma:

Currently we are leaning toward replanting this field, but expected rains may be problematic.

It will be a couple days before we can replant; The forecast beyond Wednesday is rain, rain, rain;   Uneven stands lead to reduced yields; Delayed planting leads to reduced yields.

Rotted seeds

After digging, there are no more plants that will come up. The seeds either rotted or the plants have leafed out underground. What we have is what we’re going to get.

So, my initial thought was to tear it up (or spray it) and start over. May 25^th isn’t all that late, and we can still get a good crop. I think a uniform stand would outperform the stand we have now, even if we go back in and patch plant to supplement the weakest areas (The best areas may have an uneven 60-70% stand). My fear in doing so is the weather. The field could end up waterlogged again and have spotty emergence again.

Regardless, something has to be done. Since we’ll be in the area, might as well go ahead and do it.

At this moment, I’m leaning to replanting the entire field. Instead of tearing it up, I plan to nudge the line over 4-5 inches and plant beside the existing rows. Though I’m not excited about it at all, I am tempted to plant Roundup Ready seed this time. If this planting comes up uniform, I will go in and kill the first (non RR resistant) planting. If this time around emergence is again spotty, I will let both grow and see what happens.

What would you do?

Everybody stay safe in what I hope is the final push!

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Penton Agriculture.