Season 3, Episode 2 of Battle for the Belt is now available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEQuslpNeJg
In Episode 2, we join Osler Ortez and Matt Davis in the field on day one of planting 2025!
Although, last week, most of the state has received heavy rainfall, Northwest and Northeast Ohio were dry enough to plant on March 27.
March had temperature fluctuations with Columbus and Cincinnati hitting record highs for the month. The warm fluctuations gave some farmers in the state the opportunity to try out ultra early planting dates. We were able to plant corn and soybean on March 27th at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station and Wooster Campus, one day before our current wet weather pattern began! However, our Western Agricultural Research Station location remains unplanted due to continuous wet soil conditions.
Soil conditions were nearly perfect for the first day of planting (March 27) with the topsoil being dry and adequate moisture underneath for the seed to imbibe moisture and germinate. Other than the temperature of the soil being in the low 40s on average, the crops planted beautifully. These conditions were closely replicated on the northwest side of the state, drying up enough to be able to plant before the incoming rain the following weekend. Both locations experienced an average soil and air temperature in the 40s.
There are corn four hybrids that went to into the ground, and for the soybeans, four seeding rates. All soybeans are the same variety which is a 3.5 maturity group, will be used at every planting date and location this season. We will be interested to evaluate the stand after germination and emergence to see how this weather has affected the corn and soybeans. After emergence, the crops will be staged ad scouted on a weekly basis to track crop progress throughout the season. We actively report these findings on our weekly newsletters, here with the C.O.R.N. newsletter and on the Ag Crops team YouTube channel (Ohio State Agronomy). Follow along with us to see which crop wins this final season!
Table 1. Average soil (2-inch depth) and air temperature for the first day of planting at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station in Wood County and the Wooster Campus in Wayne County. The soil and air temperature data were retrieved from https://weather.cfaes.osu.edu/
|
Location |
Average Soil Temp (2-inch depth) |
Average Air Temp |
Date |
|
Northwest Agricultural Research Station, Wood County |
 42°F |
 46°F |
 3/27 |
|
Wooster Campus, Wayne County |
 42°F  |
 41°F |
 3/27 |
As a recap, this research project includes five planting date windows, 1) Ultra early = late March to early April; 2) Early = mid to late April (reported here); 3) Normal = early to mid-May; 4) Late = late May-first week of June; and 5) Very late = mid to late June.
Keep following the ‘Battle for the Belt’ this growing season to learn more and get further updates! You can find the full video playlist of Battle for the Belt on the Ohio State Agronomy YouTube channel.