Farmers will watch the weather this spring, hoping for a good snow pack to melt into the soil and replenishing rains to hit early in the spring to make the best crop possible. If the conditions hold, it could make for an early, quick planting season. However, if the rains come, the possibility of delays emerge.

Andy Ackley, corn portfolio manager with Golden Harvest, said farmers need to be prepared for either situation. If the weather allows for early planting, farmers should see if they can adjust to a later-maturing product.

“If we are delayed, you may want to be thinking about an earlier season hybrid,” he said. “We need to build a good plan but stay agile if Mother Nature deals us a hand we weren’t prepared for.”

Iowa State University cropping systems specialist Mark Licht said not to plan for drought conditions, but plan for average conditions. If planting gets closer and a pattern has emerged, then start making adjustments.

“I think once we get into March and April, we are going to see some pretty good indications,” Licht said. “Are we in La Niña, which would make drier conditions, or sliding to a neutral or El Niño, because that’s going to change things? Think about this as managing for average or typical weather conditions, because there is still plenty of winter left and we can recharge a lot of soil moisture.”

Licht also mentioned seeding rates being a potential focus for those looking to get the most out of their soils in a drier environment.

“Do we want to lower rates to 20,000? Probably not, because then there are weed control issues,” Licht said. “But maybe you can go to 27,000 or 32,000 instead of 33,000 to 35,000 seeds per acre.”

While plans may change quickly based on the weather, Dave Brennan, planter marketing manager for Case IH North America, said getting the equipment ready early will help speed up the process. Make sure you are up to date on any service appointments.

“There are a lot of great inspection programs and inspections you can do,” Brennan said. “Anywhere there is movement in that planter should be inpsected. It’s like the human body, you have to pay attention to all the moving joints.”

Brennan said planting speed is still a large topic in the equipment industry, but accuracy and preparation are the most important aspect to planting equipment.

“I’ll go fast, but I need to make sure I’ve got that sensor technology on the planter to verify I’m still doing the job to the best of my equipment’s capability.,” Brennan said. “Not all ground conditions warrant high speeds, so seedbed preparation is key.”