Soybean replanting decisions: guidelines, numbers

Over the next week we expect more Extension workers in the Midsouth to issue soybean replanting advisories and guidelines.

Here are 2 to study right away:

Arkansas Soybean Notes, 5-15. Replant decisions ahead - how to call it; soybean rust outlook; market report.

Mississippi: Current Issues In Soybean Production, 5-5-2008. What population is too low, and calculating plant populations.

The date on the Mississippi advisory is correct. Trey Koger, the state's Extension soybean specialist, issued the report after last year's wet spring led to widespread stand loss and plenty of questions about soybean replanting. Here's the start to that year-ago advisory:

"The last six weeks have definitely been challenging for everyone trying to get a crop in the ground and up to a stand. The past few springs have been fairly dry and helped us to forget what it is like trying to get a crop in the ground and up in an extremely wet spring. This is not to say we cannot make a good crop in years with wet springs because we have in the past, it is just something we haven’t dealt with in a few years. About the time you get frustrated with drowned out low lying spots in fields or bottom ends of fields where we have lost some crop, think about those dealing with flood waters that have killed entire wheat, corn, and/or soybean crops and that still have floodwaters covering a tremendous amount of their acreage. Unfortunately, it does help to put things in perspective for those not dealing with extreme floodwaters."

History repeats itself.

-- Owen Taylor