Spring Fieldwork Progress Varies Across The Midwest

Spring fieldwork got off to a good start in some portions of the Upper Midwest in mid-late April; however, conditions in other areas were too wet to see the initiation of Spring planting. Frequent rainfall events and above normal precipitation kept most farmers out of the field during April in the eastern half of Minnesota, much of Wisconsin, and areas of northeast Iowa, as well as some portions of the eastern Corn Belt. On the flip side, planting progress has been ahead of normal in much of Iowa, Nebraska, and the western half of Minnesota, as well as in North and South Dakota. The good news is that the weather forecast in the Upper Midwest for the week of May 4-10 looks very favorable for full-scale Spring planting and fieldwork to resume in many areas.

In the wettest areas of the Upper Midwest, it may take several drier days in order to return to full-scale fieldwork, and the resulting soil conditions may be less conducive for good planting conditions.  In other portions of the region, such as western Minnesota and Iowa, as well as adjoining areas of South Dakota, 70-80 percent of the corn and 30-50 percent of the soybeans have been planted. Normally by early May, Midwest farmers have made some significant planting progress on Spring fieldwork. Some of the corn and soybeans in the Upper Midwest that were planted in mid-April are now starting to emerge. The expected warm temperatures during early May should aid good seed germination and early plant growth for newly planted corn and soybeans.

The USDA Weekly Planting Progress Report released on April 28 indicated that 25 percent of the intended U.S. corn acreage for 2025 was planted by that date. This compares to 24 percent planted a year ago, and the 5-year average of 22 percent of the corn planted by that date. As of April 28, Minnesota had 26 percent of the corn planted, compared to a 5-year average of 21 percent, while Iowa had 34 percent planted, compared to a 5-year average of 28 percent planted.  The planting progress in the west half of both States far exceeded corn planting in the eastern portions of the two States.

Other States that were ahead of the 5-year average in corn planting progress on April 28 included Missouri at 47 percent, South Dakota at 23 percent, and North Dakota at 7 percent. Nebraska at 21 percent and Ohio at 8 percent were both near the 5-year average for corn planting progress on April 28. States that were behind normal corn planting progress on April 28 included Illinois at 16 percent, compared to a 5-year average of 26 percent, as well as Indiana at 10 percent planted, and Wisconsin at only 4 percent of the corn planted.

As of April 28, 18 percent of the U.S. soybeans had been planted, compared to the 5-year average of 12 percent planted by that date. Iowa was at 25 percent of the soybeans planted by April 28, compared to a 5-year average of 13 percent planted by that date. Minnesota had 13 percent planted, compared to an average of 8 percent of the soybeans planted by April 28. Other States that exceeded the 5-year soybean planting progress on April 28 included Illinois at 22 percent planted, Missouri at 25 percent, Nebraska at 13 percent, Ohio at 10 percent, and South Dakota at 6 percent. Indiana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin were all very near their normal soybean planting progress on April 28.

Soil temperatures at the University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Center at Waseca, Minnesota were slightly above normal in mid-late April, before dropping somewhat in late April; however, they have now increased significantly in early May. The average soil temperature at the 2-4 inch level during the last week of April at the Waseca location was slightly above 50 degrees Fahrenheit (F), which is considered minimally acceptable corn and soybean germination. Research has shown that 50 percent corn emergence will occur in 20 days at an average soil temperature of 50 degrees F, which is reduced to only 10 days at an average temperature of 60 degrees F. This may help explain why some of the corn that was planted 2-3 weeks ago has been quite slow to emerge. The good news is that temperatures are predicted to be much warmer in the next couple of weeks.

The U of M Research Center at Waseca recorded 3.78 inches of precipitation during April, which was 0.48 inches above normal; however, some portions of southeast and eastern south central Minnesota recoded 5 to 8 inched of rainfall during April. These are the same areas that had seen very little planting progress by early May. The total precipitation for the first four months of 2025 at the Waseca site was 8.49 inches, which is 0.47 inches above normal. The good news in the Spring of 2025 is that most rainfall events have not been extreme and has left the soil conditions very favorable for early season plant growth, once the fields dry out.

Another piece of good news for farm operators in many portions of the Upper Midwest is that recent rainfall events have helped ease the drought concern for the early portions on the 2025 growing season. Many areas of the primary corn and soybean production areas in the Upper Midwest were listed as “abnormally dry” to “severe drought” in the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor in early April. Frequent rainfall events and above normal precipitation during April have either eliminated or greatly shrunk to drought concern area in much of the Upper Midwest; however, some drought concern remains in the central and northern Plains States and the adjoining areas of western Minnesota. There should now be adequate soil moisture for good corn and soybean germination and early season plant growth in most areas of the Upper Midwest. In many areas, the amount of stored soil moisture in the top 5 feet of soil has now been restored to much improved levels, compared to the soil moisture conditions that existed after harvest in 2024 and in early Spring this year.

Even though planting dates have been delayed in many areas of the Upper Midwest, most University and private agronomists are encouraging producers to be patient with initiating field work, and to wait until soil conditions are fit for good corn planting and seed germination. Given the high cost per acre of seed corn, and the limited availability of some of the best yielding corn hybrids in 2025, most growers do not want to take the risk of planting corn into poor soil conditions. Normally, by mid-May, the soil temperatures warm up quite rapidly, so concern over cool soil temperatures becomes less of an issue. It is expected that full-scale corn and soybean planting will resume in all areas as soon as the field conditions dry out and are fit for planting.

Timely corn planting in the Upper Midwest is usually one of the key factors to achieving optimum corn yields in a given year. According to research at land-grant universities and by private seed companies, the “ideal time window” to plant corn in Upper Midwest in order to achieve optimum yields, if soil conditions are fit for planting, is typically from about April 15 to May 10. Based on long-term research, the reduction in optimum corn yield potential with planting dates from May 10-15 in many areas of the region is usually very minimal and is quite dependent on the growing season weather that follows. Even corn planted from May 15-25 has a good chance of producing 90-95 percent of optimum yield potential, assuming that there are favorable growing conditions following planting. The ideal window to plant soybeans in the Upper Midwest and to still achieve optimum yields starts in late April and extends until mid-May or even beyond in some years, so there is still ample time to get the 2025 soybean crop planted.

Most farm operators in the Upper Midwest will likely not switch intended 2025 corn acres to soybeans unless the corn planting dates get extended into late May or beyond. By April, producers have typically finalized decisions for seed, fertilizer, and other crop inputs for the growing season, so they are likely to continue with their planned crop rotations as long as possible. In addition, there is not currently a big advantage in the projected market price at harvest this year for either corn or soybeans. New crop corn and soybean prices for the Fall of 2025 have remained fairly low in recent months due to expected steady demand and export volume, along with USDA projecting increases in corn and soybean inventories by the end of 2025 and concern over potential tariffs.

For additional information contact Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst, Green Solutions Group
Phone - (507) 381-7960; E-mail - [email protected]