Beaver Dam, Wis., strip-tiller Ryan Nell likes to plant his soybeans super early. He’s always pushing the envelope, but this year he took it to another level… planting some beans on January 31st! Nell gives play-by-play of his early-planting experiment in the video below. 

“3.5 acres of beans in the ground. We have been no moisture in the month of January. A little warmer here in the last week or so. Hit 50 degrees yesterday. We have frost about 2-3 inches, guys. Fall-stripped. We had to try it. I’m always up for a challenge. We’ve been doing March beans since 2018 and have not had a failure. Last year, March 3, planted 11 acres, I think they did over 80 bushels. Have to try it. Whether it’s right or wrong, I don’t know. This asking a lot of the beans. We’re asking them to sit in the ground for 3 months. I like the conditions. I like where they’re planted. Pioneer treated beans. 140,000. About 2-2.25 depth. We’ll see what happens. This is unknown territory. I hope it works out. We’re going to keep an eye on these. Realistically, I hope I don’t see anything until the end of April.”  

 If you don’t try, you won’t know. That’s Ryan’s motto.

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.