Farmers prepare for planting season

"It looks like it's going to be a normal season for the most part and normal in agriculture is always a good thing."

HITTERDAL, Minn. (KVRR) – As warmer weather eventually approaches, farmers in the area are preparing for planting season.

Premium Ag Solutions members help ease concerns amongst local farmers with the latest knowledge for a successful year.

“It’s a nice way for guys to get out in the winter. We do an update on markets, we do an update on weather and then go through planter updates and kind of a little overview of what the upcoming season may bring,” Premium Ag Solutions President Beau Jacobson said.

What the season could bring is a lot of positivity.

“It’s hard to predict what’s actually coming. We look back. Historically we froze up relatively dry this fall, so we’ve got some optimism. We’ll go into this spring with some good conditions, but we’re actually looking forward to a good spring and a good start. So, I think there’s a lot of opportunity here and a lot of positivity in agriculture right now,” Jacobson said.

To remain prepared, farmers should ensure their equipment is in proper working order.

“It all starts with the basics. We look at an implement like we have here, a planter that we’re rebuilding for a customer. We literally stripped that planter down to absolutely the bare bones of it and were going to rebuild every component to it. You can put all the attachments on something but if it’s not perfect at square one you’re starting at a disadvantage,” Premium Ag Solutions Precision Planting Manager Troy Amundson said.

Some disadvantages farmers could face is supply and demand.

“The market on corn and beans has really gone up with a lot of things going on in the world. Corn acres are going to go up and soybean acres are going go up, so I think it’s really going to stretch guys thin to make sure that they have enough equipment to get those things planted at the same time, that’s going to be the biggest struggle for a lot of guys,” Channel Agronomist Derek Crompton said.

To beat that struggle, Crompton recommends farmers to start early for the season.

“It looks like it’s going to be a normal season for the most part and normal in agriculture is always a good thing. That really means think about getting yourself ready to plant and when it’s going to be a normal season you want to plant early, people are planting early year in and year out than that’s what the trend has been,” said Crompton.

Overall the outlook for the season looks quite promising.

Experts say flooding is not a concern for farmers.