Early planted soybeans have created a lot of buzz in the ag world recently, and university and other research studies have shown that planting soybeans early can lead to the best yields. If the season allows you to be early when planting soybeans, here’s few questions to ask yourself:

• Is your soil temperature above 50 degrees? Soybeans will germinate at 50 degrees. However, at a constant 50 degree temperature it still may take a period of time for soybeans to emerge, due to this being the minimum temp when you can expect emergence. The warmer the temperature, say 60-75 degrees, the more rapid the growth. The Advantage Acre® and WeatherTrends 360® timeline may help to decide what date would be best suited for planting, as well as predicting an early planting season frost.
• Is your soil dry enough? Planting into wet soils leads to side wall compaction, which will impact seed placement and the overall result is poor and uneven seed emergence.
• What’s your treatment plan? A fungicide seed treatment will help protect the seed against the soil borne pathogens that will be present, especially with cool and wet early planting conditions.
• Have you considered insecticide? Seed treatment with an insecticide may be a good choice to protect against bean leaf beetles that prefer feeding in the first planted fields.

As you can see, areas of concern when planting soybeans early are soil temp, soil condition, seed placement and protecting emergence. If you’re considering early planting and want a second opinion, call you local Technical Team Agronomist. They’ll be able to walk through the pros and cons specifically for your area.

Download a copy of this technical bulletin here: Early Planting Considerations

Sources and Additional Information:

1. https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/soybean/arrivals/04-13-10_sc_soybean_planting_dates.pdf
2. https://www.farmprogress.com/crop-protection/planting-soybeans-early
3. https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/early-planting-soybean-very-important
4. https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/soybean-planting-date-can-have-significant-impact-yield
5. https://agreliantgenetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/soybeans.pdf