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No-till can keep seeds a little warmer

A Wisconsin agronomist says no-till practices can keep newly planted seeds a little warmer during chilly weather.

Matthew Oehmichen with Short Lane Ag Supply in Colby, Wisconsin says he has been measuring soil temperatures three times a day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and in fields that were chisel plowed or disked, the soil temperature has been a little colder than in no-till fields with some crop residue. “A little bit between 46 and 48 degrees. In fields where we just have soybean stubble or corn stubble or maybe silage stalks where the ground is undisturbed, those are sitting at 49, 50, 51 (degrees).

And, if the field has an active cover crop, the soil is even warmer. “Those are in the realm of 51, 53, 55.”

Oehmichen a sunny day can change things in a hurry. “You know, the ground would be like 38 (degrees), and all of the sudden by noon when it’s like 60 degrees, all of the sudden that ground gets to 54, so it rapidly warms up.”

Oehmichen tells Brownfield he hasn’t seen any frost in his central Wisconsin neighborhood but has heard of some emerging corn damage in other regions.