Years like this remind us why we leverage a lot of split applications in our nutrient management programs. The season started off decently with five days of consistent planting around Easter, but since then, we have had six weeks of wet and cool conditions, yielding only one or two consecutive planting days. On a positive note, we got 98% of our corn planted by the end of April and finished on May 2. We planted 70% of our soybeans by May 10, which is in line with when we like to have the majority of our beans planted.
In our experience, mid-May soybeans are challenging from a timing standpoint. They often experience higher levels of abiotic stresses, such as heat and drought conditions, in critical maturity stages, which can limit yield potential. We also have many acres that are affected by surface water issues. We received 4.5 inches of rain on already saturated soils, so we will be evaluating both corn and soybeans for damage, and we may need to re-plant in the areas that were hit the hardest.
Our field for the AMS trial was planted on April 27 and as of mid-June has emerged. There is some surface flooding right now in that field, but that specific area will be removed from the trial because it is adjacent to a major drainage ditch. We are feeling good about the field trial in general. For now, we plan on applying our AMS 100% broadcast later in the vegetative stages or early in reproductive stages. We are monitoring how well the beans grow after these major rains.
We will be evaluating our crop nutrients with tissue samples as well as soil samples and finalizing our post-planting nutrition applications soon. This fits into our soybean AMS trial well because we intended to evaluate a total broadcast program on irrigated soybeans. We generally have acceptable base analysis levels of macro nutrients as well as sulfur in our soils, but in a wet spring like this, we think it might pay off to leverage the broadcast application of AMS around R1 this season.
