The spring of 2018 is going to be one to remember for sure. With late winter and early spring snows and heavy rains it has delayed planting across central Illinois. But, we are not behind as some might think. Sure the insurance date has come and went but that doesn’t mean that is the green flag to go. The ground temperature has been a common discussion here at our office. Sure our hybrids are more resistant to colder ground temperatures but that is still stress on the seed for germination. We need to be looking for ground temps above 50 degrees and depending on your location you could be seeing that. However around Arthur and surrounding area’s we haven’t reached that. Here is a log for the last week of ground temperatures in Fahrenheit taken here at our office.

April 16th – 46.1; 17th – 44.2; 18th – 45.5; 19th – 44.7; 20th – 44.7; 21st – 45.7; 23rd – 47.8; 24th – 50.0.

So we are seeing the warm up that we need for ideal ground temperatures with warmer nights and warmer rain showers. The forecast looks more ideal for what we need for the remaining of the week into the weekend as we reach upper 60’s and 70’s. I will continue to post more ground temperatures for the next few weeks and as always have a safe planting season!