FARGO, N.D. -- It wouldn't be the first time in history, but farmers and their advisers say it will be unusual if farmers start planting in March.
Dave Franzen, a North Dakota State University Extension Service soil scientist in Fargo, says there is likely to be some early tillage and possibly some planting before the end of the month, even though it's unusual. Many farmers got some fall fertilizer applications on, but some held back because of wet weather and some were simply combining until late fall.
"Around here, people have been leery of fall-applying nitrogen because of some of the nitrogen losses in the past few years," Franzen says.
In high-clay or sandy soils, Franzen knows of farmers who had 130 pounds per acre of residual fertilizer at the end of April, but very little at the beginning of June, after increased rainfall in May.
Franzen says last year, the spring planting and fertilizer application period was compressed. If it is longer, farmers can take their pick among nitrogen options.
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"If it's short, they may not take time to put on ammonia," he says.
Less nitrogen
Lower commodity prices also will affect the amount of nitrogen farmers will apply when they actually get started. NDSU's computer-assisted cropping decision-making tools are affected both by the economics of crop prices and by desired yield potential. The lower commodity prices will mostly affect application rates on wheat and corn.
"I've told wheat producers that if you decide to change the (nitrogen fertilization) rate because of economics, use a high-protein variety going in," Franzen says, adding that last year, the economics favored yield, not the protein potential.
Franzen expects farmers to shift as much as possible to soybeans -- a crop that manufacturers its own nitrogen from the atmosphere and through its root nodules. Corn and wheat don't have that capability. Those crops get their nutrition either from mineralization of nitrogen in the soil or from added fertilizer. A corn crop requires about 250 to 300 pounds of nitrogen per acre, of which about 10 pounds might come from rain and snow. The rest has to be applied by farmers or mineralized from the soil and crop residue.
Farmers are starting to get antsy about getting into the fields.
"I already talked to one guy who was out picking rocks," says Wes Gackle, a farmer and farm equipment salesman in Kulm, N.D. "It's not going to take long with this weather."
Gackle remembers a season in the past decade when farmers were able to seed in March.
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"They got some of the best wheat we've ever had," he says.
He even remembers a time in the 1970s when wheat seeding started as early as February in the Wahpeton, N.D., area.
"It was so dry that year, and it stayed dry until late spring," Gackle says. "It's a bit risky, but then the seed costs weren't so high back then."
Frozen ground
Mike Clemens of Wimbledon, N.D., says he doesn't expect to get excited about planting any wheat until about April 10. The reason is simple: "The ground's still frozen."
Eric Bock, manager of CHS Nutrition, a feed center in Dickinson, N.D., says he's heard about farmers in the Belfield, N.D., area who plan to start planting wheat within a week.
Dwayne Beck, director of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm in Pierre, S.D., says some farmers in his area are starting to plant wheat, mostly into no-till rotations with soybeans and sunflowers.
In Sully County, S.D., farmers can't get crop insurance if they plant before March 16. The decision to start before that "depends on whether you're good or bad at reading a calendar," Beck quips.
