Spring planting goes best in favorable weather and with the advantages of agricultural innovation

It’s springtime in the US, and farmers across the country and in other parts of the world are planting seeds for what we all hope will be another productive year. I’ve spent the past few days on our family farm in north central Illinois for the start of the growing season. It’s a good reminder of just how fast agriculture is innovating, even as many familiar spring planting traditions remain the same. ?

For many growers in the corn belt, planting gets underway in mid-April. It is an exciting time of year, you can see field activity picking up everywhere you look. When I talk to some of the local farmers, we often compare notes: When did you get started this year? What are the soil temperatures? When will we get the next rain? And most popular, when will corn and soybean prices start going up again???

On our farm, we average planting around 300 acres a day. A lot depends on the weather, and that can change from hour to hour. This year, we had 80-degree sunshine one day and tornado warnings the next. The old saying, “April showers bring May flowers,” goes back more than 800 years. Yet, when you’re planting, rain is also a logistical challenge. Given that we’re so weather-dependent, my thoughts are with my fellow farmers in Europe and other areas where conditions have been especially difficult.??

Planting earlier and faster?

A generation ago, spring planting typically started a few weeks later than it does now. My dad, Dean Rowe, recalls that May 10 was the day on the calendar he aimed to start planting. We’re now able to get an earlier start on the growing season, in large part due to innovations in seeds and seed treatments.??

For example, Syngenta has developed dozens of seed varieties in corn, soybean, alfalfa, sorghum, and more. And our work on innovations in seed treatments is truly industry-leading and has been for more than four decades. Our seeds are treated to protect them from environmental conditions, fungus, and pests. This makes seedlings stronger from the start and gives them a foundation for strong performance as the plants grow, leading to the productivity gains farmers are looking for.?

At this time of year, you really appreciate just how important continuous innovation is to farmers everywhere. Modern equipment allows us to plant faster than my father did back when I was a teenager in the 1990s. Another advantage is the availability of digital technologies that we use to evaluate our acreage and, in the weeks leading up to planting, plan ahead. We know from data analysis that germination is crucial to yield, which is why seed choice is a key decision early in the season.?

We use digital techniques to determine the appropriate variable-rate prescription for seeds, which seeds to use, where, and how much, based on soil type and other factors. And satellite images help us to monitor field readiness, based on soil conditions and surface water. We also feed digital information into the tractors and other equipment to calibrate and automate the planting.??

Every planting season is different, but these kinds of products and digital advances give me optimism for the year ahead. Still, I’m always eager to share experiences with other farmers because no matter how fast agricultural technology develops, there’s really no substitute for what we learn from each other.??

As plants begin to push up through the soil, I want to wish all farmers a healthy and productive growing season.??