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Planting already? Wisconsin farmer puts a few soybeans in the ground

A Wisconsin farmer known for his many soybean experiments has another test underway.  Ryan Nell farms near Juneau, and he wrapped up January by planting some soybeans. “This is something we’ve never done. We have frost underneath all of this right now. I’ve never planted on top of frost. When you go down and dig the beans, that top 2-3 inches, my hand just goes through and you could just pulverize it, but you try to go below that and it’s froze.”

Nell says he used a three-and-a-half acre plot on a slight sidehill right behind the home farm, which was strip tilled in the fall. “I could have gone to a lot of different areas. Our conditions right now are, it’s not su much soil moisture, it’s that we’re froze underneat and we just freeze dried in the strips, basically.”

Nell says he’s hopeful the remaining winter weather doesn’t bring a series of freeze-thaw conditions so his test plot can perhaps get an early spring start and become a harvestable stand. “I’d say the big thing is moisture. If we can just keep the moisture away and if we can just stay froze, which the forecast looks like we’re going to freeze up again. I think they’ve got maybe a couple of inches of snow this next week.”

Nell has planted test plots of soybeans in December, January, February, and March and rolls the planters for most of his fields as early as he can, often in mid to late March.\

AUDIO: Ryan Nell discusses his winter soybean experiments, and his success with planting earlier than most.

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