News

Wet spring has farm suppliers preparing for a late April rush

A crop nutrition expert says his retailers are preparing for a spring rush. Nick Favret with Verdesian Life Sciences says, “I just was on with our field team today, and we’re hearing late start and compressed timelines. Retailers are a little bit worried about the level of workload coming up here in mid to late April.”

Favret tells Brownfield local farm suppliers, cooperatives, and custom operators are concerned about how the wet spring might lead to a very short work window for field applications and planting. “What we’ve heard is they’re doing everything they can to prepare for the season, prepare their fertilizer, have that pre-treated and ready to go and then working on a game plan with their different grower-customers on how to approach this season as their options change as time erodes.”

And, if farmers are not applying inputs themselves, Favret says they should talk to their custom operators now. “It’s going to be wise for growers to book into those custom application schedules as much as they can. It’s certainly going to be a stressful period for a lot of folks this late April.”

USDA says wet ground has prevented fieldwork and nutrient application throughout much of the Midwest.