With bad weather occurring throughout the Midwest, farmers in the Southeast South Dakota are plagued with too much water. Unlike last year where farmers were faced with drought conditions, they are faced with flooded fields and a late plant or replanting season.
“We are concerned about the soil erosion that the high volume of water carried to the bottom of hills or into the streams or gullies,” said Connie Strunk, Plant Pathology Field Specialist, Sioux FallsRegionalExtensionCenter. “You see it a lot in the creeks and rivers running brown and settling down in the erosion areas. The farmers will hopefully get to go out and replant those areas and deal with the weeds as they come.”
Strunk said the big concern for now is how long the water is going to sit. Plants can remain emerged in water for about 48 hours before they succumb to plant death. Farmers will then have to decide whether to replant and decide what herbicide to put down or should they plant a different crop than what was originally planted.
“May 30 is about to the end of planting season for corn with crop insurance,” said Strunk. “If they plant after May 30, there will be some hit and misses with corn. With Soy Beans, you can go as late as June 10, but after that it is getting to be late as far as crop insurance is concerned.”
“The biggest challenges facing farmers is to whether they are going to get into their fields to plant, and some farmers haven’t been able to get to their fields at all,” said Strunk. “Then they have to decide what they can plant, and how much. They may have to decide if they can get the quality seeds needed for these conditions.”
Strunk said farmers planted with optimal levels planned and now have to reevaluate how much of the fields were destroyed by the rain. Right now it is a waiting game to see what will be needed for planting this Spring.
Connie Strunk was interviewed on the Greg Belfrage show May 29, 2013.