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Driving around my area the last few days and looking at the wheat crop there are a lot of commonalities from field to field this year. None of them are progressing fast enough right now for getting our double-crop soybeans established in a timely manner. So as we go to the field (soon I hope) to plant corn we need to be thinking about our double-crop bean planting strategy. 

We have had a cool wet April here in southern Illinois. This has slowed the development of the wheat crop. Lack of warm weather and sunshine has slowed growth, and in my opinion we are a good two weeks behind where we are normally. And to add to that setback, because of the wet weather, we have delayed our nitrogen applications on wheat and we may be as much as three weeks behind in some areas. Granted all that could change with a warm beautiful May, but as of this post, we are behind. 

With a possible later-than-normal harvest that means a later-than-normal planting date for double-crop soybeans. If a farmer has the capability, he might start considering the possibility of harvesting wheat sooner and drying wheat instead of letting it dry naturally in the field—as is the habit. This could speed up planting soybean by 7 – 10 days.

The cool wet April also has resulted in many wheat fields having drown-out spots, where wheat is no longer growing. The late nitrogen and herbicide applications also have led to many fields with ruts from the sprayers. In both these instances these will be prime spots for weedy areas to develop as we move towards harvest. 

Then there are the ruts to contend with once harvest is over and we begin to plant. Planting over these ruts will result in “streaks” in the field where few, if any, beans will come up due to inconstant planting depth or coverage. Plus in some fields the depth of the ruts could cause equipment issues as we try to drive and plant over them.

So as we sit and wait to plant corn, we have a lot of time to think about new challenges that will face us as we get into wheat harvest. Don’t put off these issues until then. Begin to formulate a plan on how you will handle these challenges in an effort to enhance our probability for success with our double-crop beans.