Mother Nature likes to throw farmers a few curveballs.

And whether you’re the early bird who’s out planting well before the neighbors, or if you’re that neighbor whose planting was delayed, it’s essential to get out into your fields to see how those curveballs affected your ball, or… um… crop.

How soon should you check? Weather and soil conditions will significantly impact the timing of crop emergence. But in general, plants should emerge in about a week. Once it looks like most plants have emerged, it’s time to pull on your boots and get to work.

Taking Stand Counts: The Basics

For stand counts, you’re more than welcome to go tally the total number of plants in an acre. Just bring several clicker counters!

However, most farmers and agronomists use the 1/1000th of an acre method (we definitely recommend this). In a nutshell:

1. Get a tape measure and something to document your findings (a single clicker counter, a pad of paper, or a counting tool on your phone should suffice).

2. Find a random spot in the field.

3. With your row width in mind, lay your tape measure between two rows and measure a distance equal to 1/1000th of an acre. Examples:

a. If you planted 30” rows, measure 17’ 5”.

b. If you planted 15” rows, measure 34’10”.

c. You can adjust this for practically any row spacing. Use a chart like this one to find the proper measurement for your field.

4. Count the number of plants along that measured area.

a. Pro tip from our agronomists: count the number of plants on both sides of the tape measure and divide by two. This quick method gives you even more data that translates into more accurate field estimates.

5. Multiply the number of plants you counted by 1,000 and—voila—you have your number of plants per acre for that area.

a. Example: You count 28 plants in one row and 32 plants in the adjacent row. Your average is 30, and your plants per acre equals 30,000.

6. Take several stand counts across the field. Six is a good number, but that can vary with field size. Then average the counts to get a field average.

While you take counts, be sure to check for growth stage uniformity and plant spacing. Select random areas to count, even if a random area has significant planting gaps. Try to select rows that represent different planter units. If you find a spot significantly different from the rest of the field, keep that count separate and note that area for later evaluation.

Analysis and Evaluation

Your stand count can be negatively affected by wet/cold soil, poor weather conditions, insect/pest problems, and even planter issues (be sure to have your planter in tip-top shape).

A “normal” stand is usually 95% of your planted population. For example, if you plant your corn at a population of 32,000 plants, counting 30,400 is acceptable. If your counts are less than ideal, replanting may be warranted.

To make replant decisions, it’s important to work with your LG Seeds agronomist. Is your seed still eligible for replant? How do your plants look? What advice does your agronomist have?

Replanting must make economic sense and have a positive impact on your ROI—your agronomist can help you determine this.

And certainly, consider timing: delayed replant might not help the situation. 

According to our charts, planting corn at the end of April may translate into a nearly 100% chance of an optimum yield. But pushing that back by one month drops that chance to 80%.

The same basic structure rings true for beans.

Bottom Line

Evaluating your crop in-season is essential, and taking stand counts is an important first step. This data is critical when you have to make difficult replant decisions. Work with your LG Seeds agronomist—we’ll be your reliable partner as you take and evaluate your stand counts.