BC Extension: NDSU prevent plant decision tool

Mother Nature has decided to have every weather event possible this spring. The beginning of April it appeared like we were going to have a normal planting season despite the cool temperatures. But then a midApril blizzard or two and a few thunderstorms later here we are in the middle of May with little to no field work completed.

The good news is, after our April snow storms, the weather did decide to warm up and the soil temperatures have warmed up for planting. On May 11th, both the Dazey and Fingal NDAWN stations reported bare soil temperature was 55 degrees which is ideal for planting.

With planting season being later this year, there is the potential to decide if a field should be planted with the intended crop, switch to a different crop or claim prevent plant. The crop insurance final planting date for corn is May 25th, for spring wheat is May 31st and for soybean is June 10th. If a crop is planted after the final planting date, there is a 1% per day loss on insurance coverages.

NDSU Extension has developed a Prevent Plant Decision Tool to help decide if financially it makes more sense to plant a crop or claim prevent plant. The decision tool can be found by searching “NDSU Extension Prevent Plant Decision Tool” in your favorite web browser. The link will download the tool as an Excel worksheet. The numbers in the yellow boxes can be changed to reflect your farm economics. Then the tool will calculate the gain/loss by choosing to claim prevent plant over planting the intended crop.

Before making any final decisions, a farmer should talk to their insurance agent about their options. Also, it is best to make sure communicate with Ag retailers about any change in planting intentions including changing crops, varieties, fertilizer or chemical to help Ag retailers meet your needs. For more information, contact Alicia Harstad at the Barnes County Extension Office at 701-8458528.