Planting cereals in June

We’ve sown a fair bit in June, certainly not the end of the world. Wheat likely wouldn’t make it but barley and oats have no problem. By mid June I’m not worrying about what the yield will be, more whether or not it will freeze and have nothing.

Seeding in June up here probably won't even apply down there. But FWIW, like meskie says we don't usually start until later into the second week of May so no one is getting worried here yet. Oats and barley usually have no problem making it even if they're not in until June 10th. Seems to grow more biomass though so you'll have more material to put through the combine but the color of the grain will be better, especially the oats. You'd also better have a plan for seed for the next year because more than likely the germ will be no good.

Although I feel it is too early for this conversation I would not be concerned about late seeding even into June with most crops. Corn I would pass on and soys would be an early June thing only(I have done first week with good success), but other cereals no problem. It used to be that if you seeded late disease would blow in from the south and take a toll, but now with fungicides that threat is over. Any trial data prior to 2000 showing late seeding is problematic in cereals is bunk, and even recent data if it was not managed properly with fungicide. All of my best cereal crops have been May crops and I don't even think about April seeding anymore...which isn't a problem for anyone this year except AB as noted.

I hope he is right! The last 4 years have been pretty easy going for spring seeding besides the usual frost and flea beetles, but mucky sticky clay is one thing I hate the most especially applying nh3 with the seed.

I've always felt I lost a bit of yield the later I seed. Maybe its in my mind, but I always felt that the earlier I can get the crop into the flowering/reproductive stages to take advantage of the long days the better. Plus when it gets much into June I ussually cut my fertilizer rate back considerably. I would guess at the beginning of june I might lose 5-10% and at the middle it may be closer to 25-30%. Oats and barley do well in regard to maturity when seeding late, but by far my best yields are when I seed them early.

Does the variety stool out good.

75% is up, as in 25% of the field is patches with no oats or 25% of space in rows don't have a plant coming up.

You don't seem to be in a cash flow crunch where every acres needs to meet xxx $ revenue to pay bills so if at the end of the year your total revenue on that piece is down some, is it a big issue? I don't think you need to worry about weed pressure from lack of crop competition as most weeds have already germinated by now. There will be some weeds that need high gdu to grow and will come yet but those are few.

If it is patches, you should be able to identify them and reseed those if you have a desire. If it is inter row then I would leave it. Let the plants tiller. You will probably have to swath but is it better to have 75% of the crop maturing earlier or is it better to have 100% of crop maturing later, depending how you handle it.

I tend to favor the approach of let's see what happens. If I need to count on every dollar then I need to be more precise and can't play the wait and see game. For me insurance is there to save a catastrophe, not so much to take advantage of to maximize revenue on an acre of land. If it's not a catastrophe happening right now I wouldn't respond as if it is one, regardless of crop insurance pays.