Completed Project Report

Battle for the 'Belt': Development of Research-Based Curriculum and Tools to Help Farmers Decide Corn and Soybean Planting Priority

  • Award Amount: $49,632
  • Regional Center: North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2023 Education Projects
  • Project Director: Laura Lindsey
  • Email: lindsey.233@osu.edu
  • Organization: The Ohio State University

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Project Overview

This project addressed Production and Financial Risk associated with delayed corn and soybean planting due to weather variability and extreme events. Planting priority is an important decision for traditional commercial producers and also small farms and limited resource producers who many only have one planter to plant both crops. Our project helped farmers decide corn and soybean planting priority, taking into account insects, weeds, and diseases as well as profitability. Results are applicable to farmers within the Midwest. Project outcomes included: Understanding (yield loss due to delayed corn and soybean planting; insect, disease, and weed risks when planting is delayed; adjustments to farming operation if planted is delayed), Development (farmers will create a planting priority plan for their farm), and Implementation (implement planting priority decisions; adjust their farming operation if planting is delayed). These outcomes were met through innovative extension programming using short, informative videos hosted on social media platforms and in-person workshops. We created a video curriculum for Certified Crop Advisers and others as well as an excel-based spreadsheet to estimate profitability of planting corn and soybean at various dates. In 2024, we presented our research results during the OSU Extension AgCrop’sTeam Virtual Corn College and Soybean School webinar and surveyed participants to better understand their farming operations and production practices. Webinar participants represented 400,000 acres of corn and soybean production. 73% of survey respondents noted they were ‘somewhat likely’ to change their soybean planting dates as result of the webinar content while 47% of the survey respondents noted they were ‘somewhat likely’ to change their corn planting dates as result of the webinar content. Based on our field research and outreach efforts, we estimate a total potential economic impact of $94 million in Ohio by optimizing corn and soybean planting dates.

Number of Participants: 127

Outcomes

Project Steps

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EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

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