We received more than .06” of moisture last Thursday, which further delayed planting. Drying winds helped make conditions fit for fieldwork on Monday. A lot of tillage equipment has moved this week, with some planting underway. We planted two Latham® corn plots on Monday, and the soil temperature near Osage was only 52 degrees at 1 p.m. We recommend a consistent soil temperature of 50 degrees before planting corn, and it’s hard to believe that we’re pushing that in mid-May!
Tag Archives: Southeast Minnesota
Southeast Minnesota & Northeast Iowa “From the Field™” Crop Report: May 1, 2013
Talk about fluctuating soil temperatures! Temperatures in our field by Osage varied by 16 degrees in 24 hours:
April 29 36 degrees at 9 A.M.
April 30 52 degrees at 8:30 A.M.
Remember, we recommend waiting until soil temperatures in a region reach between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit before you plant soybeans or 50 degrees before you plant corn.
Soil temperature is more critical when planting soybeans because soybeans can germinate in a soil environment of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If the air temperature after germination hits 28 degrees Fahrenheit or less, the young seedling can be killed with the growing point of the plant right at emergence.
Southeast Minnesota & Northeast Iowa Crop Report: October 10, 2012
Farmers are finishing up with harvest, and tillage is underway. Yields are all over the place on both corn and beans. We received a small amount of rainfall on Oct. 9; it sure would be nice to get an all- soaker.

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