Spring planting outlook after spring showers

MANDAN, N.D. (KFYR) - Farmers are preparing for planting, or they’ve already started.

Jesse Smith farms and ranches south of Mandan. He’s behind schedule because of all the recent rains and is waiting for the fields to dry up.

“I think the potentials right now are for a pretty successful year, but it’s a long time from now until the fall. So we’ll just have to see what comes right. There’s a saying, you know, you’re only two weeks away from a drought in North Dakota, so we don’t bet on anything,” said Smith.

The moisture is still welcome.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate with the moisture. I know coming into the year with the lack of snow that we had,” said Tyler Kralicek, NDSU extension agent.

Kralicek said the moisture levels are looking good for getting different crops to germinate.

Before Smith starts planting, he spends time tuning up his equipment, and in his field, he has spent a lot of time preparing.

He’s put down fertilizer and broken up the ground and is always battling the weeds in the spring.

“Crop rotation— so instead of doing corn and soybeans, adding some wheat, adding some lentils, changing your cropping system and different growing conditions, that can change a lot in the weeds lifecycle and make it harder to compete,” said Isaac Effertz, seed improvement specialist with CHS Inc.

Even with all the moisture, Kralicek said most people are on time or a little late for spring planting, and there is no risk of late planting insurance issues right now.

“It’s not like last year when we had the late snow or rains come in and everyone was rushing just to get it on the field,” said Effertz.

Smith is going to start with wheat and hopes to finish that up before he plants corn.

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