By WMBD-TV

PEORIA – The warmer than normal winter and early spring are benefiting area farmers by allowing them to prep their fields sooner than normal.

And that could mean higher yields later this year for them.

“The experiments and the tests that have been done. The yield trials show that if soybeans are planted earlier in the spring, they have a potential to yield better. But, there is a risk in that. And if we do get a late frost, those soy bean seedlings are going to get nipped.” said Patrick Kirchhofer, manager of the Peoria County Farm Bureau.

Farmers have been able to add tiling — tubes that can carry excess water out of their fields — as well as anhydrous ammonia which acts as fertilizer for corn. To prep for the other big cash crop within Illinois — soybeans — many farmers have added dry fertilizer as well.

All this is due to the warmer-than-normal temperatures in the past few months. Normally, such steps would be started around now and thus, push back when they could get seeds into the ground.

Within the past 10 years, the trend has been to plant soy first as the yields are greater if those seeds go into the ground first. Prior to a decade ago and prior to the warming trend, it was corn that was planted first.

Kirchhofer said that soil temperature has to be at least 50 degrees to begin planting, but farmers can do it quicker compared to decades ago.

“Today’s equipment is larger and is typically faster than what it has been, so farmers can get fields planted rather quickly.” he said.

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