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Indiana farmer says technology is helpful with narrow planting windows

A west-central Indiana farmer says high-speed planters are helping him cover more acres as wet weather has shortened his planting window.

Kevin Cox, president of the Indiana Soybean Alliance, says technological advancements have changed his approach to crop management.  “Back in my dad’s day, the day that you could get across the field, you’d be planting regardless of what the forecast was,” he says. “So, with this technology, we’re able to cover a lot of acres in a very short amount of time. We can be a little more focused on what the forecast is, then plant whenever we know that we don’t have a cold rain coming, or we have a big drop in temperatures or something like that.”

Cox says he can be more focused on field conditions. “That is a totally different philosophy than we’ve ever used before, so that’s kind of kind of the direction we’re trying to go,” he says.

According to the latest crop report from the USDA, just 8% of Indiana’s corn and soybeans have been planted. Both are running behind last year’s pace and the 5-year average.