Experts outline key considerations for early planting
As the 2026 planting season kicks off, farmers across the country are turning their attention to strategies for successful early planting.
With growing seasons fast approaching, industry experts offer advice on early planting considerations to help crop growers maximize plant potential.
Soil temperature
In a March 24 Northern Ag Network article, Montana State University (MSU) Extension specialists outline several considerations for early planting, starting with the topic of soil quality.
Early planting can provide several advantages, but also caution cooler soil temperatures accompanying earlier planting can slow germination and seedling emergence and open the door to a variety of crop diseases.
To manage early-season disease threats, MSU Extension recommends integrating strategies such as soil monitoring, seed treatments and supplements.
Additionally, they note ensuring adequate phosphorous nutrition can reinforce plant cell walls and create a physical barrier against root pathogens.
“While early planting bears certain disease risks, it also offers disease management benefits,” MSU Extension emphasizes, noting early planting can help certain crops avoid severe impacts of some diseases which favor warm soils such as Aphanomyces and Fusarium root rots since plants will be more developed at the time of infection.
Minimum soil temperature required for planting varies by crop, but in all cases, temperatures must be high enough to allow for germination and growth.
In a March 2019 Farm Progress article, Minnesota-based Agronomist Jon Zuk emphasizes soil should be able to hold a consistent temperature above 50 degrees Fahrenheit before planting.
Zuk recommends testing soil temperatures at four inches or deeper and monitoring conditions for an extended period before planting, noting although seeds can survive in cooler soils, big temperature swings can make managing emergence difficult.
Moisture considerations
In addition to soil temperature, proper moisture is necessary to encourage growth as planting in overly wet or exceedingly dry conditions can lead to complications.
“Planting when the soil is too wet can cause compaction, smear the sidewall of the seed trench, restrict root development and even cause the seed to rot and die,” reads a February 2025 CROPLAN Seed article titled “Five Tips for Managing Early Season Plant Stress.”
“However, if the field is too dry, germination can slow or stop,” the article adds, noting increasing planting depth can sometimes help reach more moisture.
“In addition to the presence of moisture, be sure to evaluate consistency,” the article continues. “If moisture is not spatially consistent at seed depth, uneven germination and uneven emergence can occur.”
Zuk says an easy way to test surface moisture conditions involves digging a six- to 12-inch hole and grabbing a handful of soil.
“If it crumbles rather than balling up, it’s fit for planting,” he writes.
MSU Extension further emphasizes, given ongoing warm temperatures and dry conditions, getting seed in the ground early can help crops bloom ahead of midsummer heatwaves and help growers tap into spring moisture before warmer temperatures dry out the soil.
Seed treatments
and fertilizer
Several experts agree incorporating seed treatments can help mitigate early-season stresses from plant diseases like Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Fusarium and Phytophthora.
MSU Extension recommends selecting high-quality seeds with strong vigor and seed treatments with multiple modes of action to offer broad-spectrum protection.
Regarding fertilizer, the CROPLAN Seed article emphasizes nutrients like phosphorus and zinc are vital to early plant growth but tend to be more limited when soils are wet and cool.
Therefore, incorporating a starter fertilizer to boost levels of phosphorous and zinc can be a good management strategy.
MSU Extension notes fertilizer needs should not change greatly with early seeding, adding nitrogen guidelines also do not change based solely on early seeding.
Instead, MSU Extension explains nitrogen guidelines are based largely on yield goals, which may change depending upon over-winter precipitation levels.
“The best recommendation is likely to fertilize with nitrogen conservatively, given low soil moisture and relatively high nitrogen fertilizer costs and then apply nitrogen during the growing season if precipitation is normal or above normal,” the article states.
Pest control
Managing early-season insect pests is also critical to ensuring field health, and several experts recommend regularly scouting fields throughout early crop development to check for pest activity before populations reach damaging levels.
“Monitoring fields for symptoms such as poor emergence, missing plants, clipped seedlings or feeding damage on cotyledons and young leaves can help identify insect pest problems early and support timely management decisions,” state the MSU Extension authors.
Additionally, MSU Extension notes weeds can provide shelter and sustenance for some insects and allow populations to grow before crops emerge.
Therefore, controlling weeds before planting and throughout early crop development can aid crop growth, reduce pest pressure and limit movement of insects into newly emerging plants.
Additional considerations
Scouting fields can also help planters understand growth stages and crop quality, which can help set expectations and drive management decisions for the rest of the growing season, according to the CROPLAN Seed article.
MSU Extension also emphasizes understanding and reviewing insurance policies ahead of planting is critical.
“Federal rule changes have removed certain buy-up options for prevented planting coverage, so what you carried last year may not match what is available or what you need this season,” MSU Extension says. “Review your policy now, before something goes wrong.”
Overall, MSU Extension recommends farmers take advantage of the warm temperatures and early planting window while keeping drought and field conditions in mind, and planting what their individual operations can realistically handle this year.
Grace Skavdahl is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
