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“Toe at starting line” for Iowa farmer ready to begin spring fieldwork

Activity is picking up on many farms across the Midwest.

Stu Swanson grows corn, soybeans, and finishes feeder pigs in north-central Iowa.

“We’re putting our toe at the starting line, of course. It’s been a nice, open winter so we’ve had a lot of early prep. This week started work on a drainage project that we got started on last fall and didn’t quite get completed.”

The Galt-area farmer is targeting mid-April to begin planting.

“I think last year we started on April 10th or 11th, and that was the earliest that we had ever started. We tend to look more at the soil conditions instead of the calendar, but certainly we’d like to get moving here in April. And we always seem to produce a better crop if we can get it planted by the end of the month.”

Swanson is president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.