In this week’s Boots In The Field Report Ken Ferrie advises growers, if they haven’t gotten their wheat top-dressed, the window to get that on is closing fast. He comments, if tougher wheat stands are going to corn in case of a winter kill, he would still top-dress it, but if going to beans, might want to hold up on top-dressing. Due to Iowa’s drought conditions, they can start rolling on some field work as long as the soil is dry enough, but he warns to make sure you are not creating a cloddy seedbed or leaving tracks. Ken says 80% of his summer service calls come from the first pass run in the spring, 1 pass systems like soil finisher or high speed disk need to be careful so as not to run too soon. Ken reminders growers “Your neighbor doesn’t decide when your ground is fit.” Conditions in your fields, matched to your tillage practices, need to dictate when you are ready to go.
