Little fall tillage or strips. Even less fall fertilizer. Delays in spring field work. Long delays in planting. And while none of us want to relive this season, we do need to take some time to develop new cropping strategies that allow us to succeed even when Mother Nature gets in our way.

Make plans now to build more flexibility into your crop plan. A flexible, or reactive, crop plan lets you adjust to match the ever-changing weather conditions. Here are things to consider when building a flexible crop plan.

Is it the same plan you used five years ago?
Just like a cell phone, crop plans can become obsolete. For example, five years ago, we would plant corn – then soybeans. But current research shows that beans can tolerate cold soils and benefit from early emergence. Other “crazy ideas” five years ago are now proven, such as strip- till, late-season nitrogen application, narrow rows and more. Review your practices and see if you do these because they are habits or because they are truly critical to your cropping strategy.

Are there activities that are scheduled for convenience rather than optimum effectiveness?
Sure, there is no better feeling than “checking the box” when a big task is complete. But often, we shift activities into a convenient time slot rather than an ideal time slot. An example: fall nitrogen application. Applying nitrogen in the fall can eliminate one important task from the hectic spring schedule, but it also increases the risk of volatilization and leaching. Shifting nitrogen application closer to the rapid uptake period decreases loss and increases efficiency.

Is your plan “pre-plant” heavy?
As in 2019, it can be nearly impossible to get seedbed prep, fertility, weed control and planting done in the narrow spring window. Identify ways to shift one of these activities to post planting to lighten the load and improve the timing of the remaining tasks. Shift nitrogen application to an early or late sidedress. Or combine multiple activities with one pass. Adding nitrogen on the planter eliminates a pass plus boosts efficiency through banding.

Do you have access to the right equipment if you need to go to plan B?
Managing equipment costs often means that we narrow our tool inventory to include only the things we need for our system – no-till, strip till, vertical till, conventional till or beds, which means that we may not have the equipment we need when conditions change. Combine ruts from last fall – find a chisel plow. No-till field won’t dry out – harrow to move residue. Need to add a sidedress pass – find a custom 360 Y-DROP applicator. Get a line on custom or lease tools that give you flexibility as conditions dictate.