How to grow early-planted soybeans

Are soybean planting dates poised to move forward in the future? Producers are pushing the envelope when it comes to early planting because earlier planting dates often equate to more bushels at harvest.

“Early planting sets a farmer up for increased yield, but that is not guaranteed and is based on the precipitation during the seed fill period,” says Shawn Conley, soybeans and small grains Extension specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Planting soybeans early adds complexity and increased risk to the farming operation, so be prepared to manage this crop different than your normal soybean crop.”

Success with early-planted soybeans must include a variety of factors. While there are benefits, plenty of pitfalls can occur. The key is to remain flexible and adjust when needed.

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Early Planting 101: Push Dates Ahead

"The single most influencing yield enhancer for us is early planting,” says Matt Miles, who farms about 5,000 acres of soybeans near McGehee, Arkansas. While the Mississippi Delta region sees its planters rolling much earlier than in the Midwest, Miles says his planting dates have moved forward by more than a month in recent years.

“About 10 years ago we might have gotten a few soybeans planted in late April, but most of our beans were planted in early May,” he says. “So, we just kept moving that planting date up a few weeks every year.” This year, his soybean planters started rolling March 15.

He even planted a few soybean test plots in late February. “We knew that date was really pushing the weather window,” he says. “But we wanted to see just how far we could go. I continually ask myself how early is too early. I won’t know unless I do my own research. But every time we pushed the planting date earlier, we picked up bushels.”

Around 2010, Temple Rhodes began entering soybean yield contests to learn more about what would work on his farm to boost yields. Situated in Centerville, Maryland, Rhodes was a sponge when it came to learning how other producers were successful. He discovered that many of the yield contest winners focused on fertility management.

Rhodes farms about 2,500 acres of soybeans in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, where stringent fertility management plans are part of farming. “We are limited to the amount of N, P, and K we can put down, and there are limits to the timing when we can apply,” he says. “So, we needed to look at things a little different.”

Soybeans were being planted in late May to early June in warmer soils. However, Rhodes began moving his planting dates earlier and earlier. “Now we are planting the first week in April, and it’s cold,” Rhodes says. “But I’ve had soybeans sit in the ground for 28 days and never crack the ground. I’d worry that they wouldn’t emerge, and then the weather would cooperate, and they’d pop right out of the ground.”

What he found was that while underground, the soybean was establishing a root system the entire time. “It didn’t die,” he says. “It simply was waiting for warmer weather.”

For Miles, determining an optimum early planting schedule took time. “If you told me five years ago to plant before April 15, I would think you were crazy,” he says. “And now I’m a month earlier than that. But it took us some time to determine that planting sweet spot, so we’d move the date up a little at a time.”

It’s not necessarily a rigid date. Miles says he’ll pay close attention to the 15-day weather forecast. “If my target date is March 15 and the weather forecast is for cold, wet weather, I’ll put the planter back in the shop and wait. If you want to know my optimal planting date for the year, I’ll base it on the 15-day forecast before I hit the fields."

Miles says an earlier planting date shows up at harvest. “If we average 60 bushels an acre on soybeans planted on May 1, I can average 80 bushels on the same ground with soybeans planted in late March,” he says.

Geographies will dictate how early is too early for planting soybeans, but both Miles and Rhodes say it’s a matter of reviewing past weather patterns and looking at current long-range forecasts.

“I didn’t just start moving the planting date up,” Rhodes says. “It took some planning and research. But we know that an earlier planted soybean can yield more.”

Early Planting 201: Protect the Seed

Earlier planting means soil conditions may put seed under additional stresses. That’s why it’s imperative to protect the seed and ensure it has the right balance of nutrients to handle early-season growth.

“I treat 100% of my seed,” Miles says. “When we are planting early, we are putting that seed into an environment where it is susceptible. Our seed treatment includes a full fungicide and insecticide package. For our very early soybeans, we also add an in-furrow fungicide treatment. We’ve noticed that it helps protect those seeds that may not have emerged but are developing roots underground.”

Rhodes says as he’s shifted to earlier soybean plantings, he’s made several adjustments during planting. “We pay close attention to fertility,” he says. “We know that cold temperatures put the soybean plant under increased stress, so we want to put products in the furrow that will mitigate as much stress as possible.”

Fungicides play a huge role. “Soybean seed treatment isn’t enough,” he says. “You need to put something else in the furrow that will control the wet, cool-weather type of diseases you may get in your area.”

Micronutrients are also used as needed. “We have a lot of restrictions in our area when it comes to fertility application, so we really watch our

micronutrients,” adds Rhodes. “We know that the soybeans are going to emerge when it’s cool and wet. We add things like magnesium, manganese, and iron in the furrow at planting, things that aid in the plant’s photosynthesis. When the plant first comes up, it has the right nutrients to get up and growing and help mitigate some of the environmental stress.”

Early Planting 301: Fill the Planter and Go

An obvious step in the entire process is getting the soybean seeds into the ground. For Rhodes and Miles, this means moving as quickly as possible when all other indicators line up.

“When we get rolling, we start up all the planters at one time and hit the fields,” Miles says. “And we don’t look back until we have all our soybeans planted.”

That's a shift in philosophy, where normally corn and cotton would be planted before soybeans.

“We were notorious for planting one crop at a time. And that’s something we’ve adjusted. I’m often running up to three planters in the soybeans and three planters in the corn at the same time. That was a mental mountain I had to climb, because in the old days we planted all our corn, and then we started planting all our soybeans. I purchased an additional planter four years ago, so I could start planting my beans when I was planting my corn,” Miles says.

Rhodes had a similar schedule. “We used the same planter, would plant corn, and then switch over to soybeans,” he says. “Now, we run multiple planters and are planting both corn and soybeans at the same time. Having planters available when the weather cooperates is critical.

“Being able to find that window and get planted is a moneymaker,” Rhodes says. “The investment in additional planters was well worth it.”

To select the seeds that go into the planter, both Miles and Rhodes do extensive on-farm variety trial tests.

“We’ll look at two to three varieties suitable for our area and plant those in strips,” Miles says. “That allows us to evaluate these varieties under our growing conditions and management style.”

Lessons Learned

Both Miles and Rhodes admit the path to early-season soybeans hasn’t been smooth or easy. There have been mistakes along the way.

“One of my biggest mistakes was not paying attention to fertility balance,” Rhodes says. “The other mistake was making wholesale changes to my program. What works well for one producer may not work for another. The key is to research what works on your farm, do a lot of on-farm testing, and adjust as necessary. What works for me is learning my weather window and knowing what my soils lack and what the plants need.”

Added Miles: “We’ve done a lot of research to ensure that early-planted soybeans will work on our farm. We studied what others were doing and incorporated the ideas we thought would work for us.”