Spring Planting Guidelines for Corn, Soybeans and Sugar Beets in Minnesota

In this week’s CropCast, Dr. Seth Naeve, extension soybean specialist and David Nicolai, extension crops educator welcomed University of Minnesota and North Dakota State Extension Specialists; Dr. Jeff Coulter and Dr. Tom Peters. Dr. Jeff Coulter is an extension corn specialist and Dr. Tom Peters is an extension weed specialist in sugar beets. These three state specialists discussed optimum planting criteria for growers to consider when planting their 2025 corn, soybean and sugar beet seed inputs. They reviewed specific guidelines regarding the most favorable planting depths, planting dates, planting rates and soil temperature for these Minnesota crops. They covered the practices to ensure good seed-to-soil contact based on optimal soil moisture conditions when soils are deemed “in good dry conditions” as influenced not just by soil temperatures but also by variety maturity and calendar dates as we move in the last half of April. They also discussed whether to plant longer- or shorter-season varieties based on the calendar, planting delays and soil/moisture conditions. Early season weed control was favored in all crops, especially sugar beets when grown in longer rotations by utilizing appropriate pre-emergence herbicides favored by the incorporation into the soil profile via timely spring rains. For more detailed crop planting recommendations please consult the University of Minnesota Extension field crop web sites at Soybean Planting, Corn Planting or Sugar Beet Growing.