Managing for Profit

The 2018 planting season has begun for some, nearing for others

There are differing times at which growers begin field work.  Commodity Classic is generally considered to be the last major show of the season before farmers start scratching dirt.  Among the thousands of farmers who attend Commodity Classic, most were looking forward to field work or had already begun.  National Corn Growers Association Board member from South Dakota, Keith Alverson, is patient about getting the planter out.

“We’ve got a fair amount of snow on the ground yet, but that’s not uncommon for this time of year,” Alverson, who farms in southeastern South Dakota, told Brownfield Ag News at Commodity Classic.  “Things will happen rapidly, and I think we’re going to have farmers ready to go when weather allows.”

David Williams, the president of the Michigan Soybean Association, also anticipates being in the field in late April, but after hearing about better yields on early-planted soybeans, he’d like to push that up.  “I’d like to try something a little bit earlier than that this year,” he said.

But of course, further south, work had begun prior to the Anaheim-based show.  Missouri Corn Growers President Kyle Kirby, who farms in the southwest corner of Missouri, took a break from field work to attend Commodity Classic.

“We’ve already been in the field and we’re about 70 percent done putting on anhydrous now,” he told Brownfield.  “Actually the first day that it dries up, we’ll be in the field with the planter.”

AUDIO: Keith Alverson, David Williams, Kyle Kirby, Gary Porter (3 min. MP3)