In west central Indiana some farmers wrapped up planting in April for the first time ever. David Virgin in Montgomery County is one of those, but in a HAT Field Update Friday morning he said some neighboring farmers played it cautious with the weather and still have some unplanted soybean fields.
“Hey this is the time of year, no one has been here. Was it too early to plant beans, should you wait? And there are still some beans to go yet in about a 3-county marginal area. And some people caught a few more rains than we did which put them out of the fields. I have a buddy in Greencastle who should be finishing up with beans, and a friend down in Crawfordsville who should be finishing with corn and beans, so overall still way ahead of schedule.”
Virgin says all of his crops are up out of the ground and he is happy with crop progress. There is however some variability in crop development.
“My brother planted a test plot about 7 days ago and that corn is up and has actually caught up with what we planted the first of April. Of course we didn’t have enough growing degree days. But really there is no loss or penalty for planting early other than if you had issues with bugs and things like that. So fortunately everything is looking ok.”
Last week Purdue warned farmers about the record number of black cutworm in the state and the need to scout and treat. Virgin’s approach this year is proactive.
“I am going ahead and putting insecticide in for that. It’s not that terribly expensive and I got bit last year with it so we’re not taking any chances this year. So we’ve been putting it in with our chemical.”
Hear more in the HAT Field Update at the Agronomy page, sponsored by Advanced Ag Solutions.[audio:https://www.hoosieragtoday.com//wp-content/uploads//2012/05/David-Virgin-early-May-update.mp3|titles=David Virgin early May update]