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He Planted Soybeans In November
Ross Albert has experimented with planting soybeans early, but this past fall he planted a one-acre test plot on Nov. 20th. He doesn’t expect the plot to yield anything other than information.
“I was planting some rye cover crops when my seed dealer challenged me to plant some soybeans,” says Albert. “I told him to bring out the seed.”
The local BASF research farm had planted soybeans just the day before and provided the soybean seed to Albert. He hopes to learn along with them.
It wasn’t the first time Albert and his dealer Darren Roelfs have been on the cutting edge, or as he puts it the bleeding edge, with out-of-season soybeans. In 2018 he planted them in March. The soybeans did well, but the knowledge harvested was more important.
“I gained a lot of experience, and it gave me the confidence to plant my soybeans on April 10th this year,” says Albert. “Ten years ago, that was taboo.”
This past year he experimented with planting and alternating 8-row strips of corn and soybeans in early June. He had a 2-acre pasture that was infested with thistles.
“I had leftover seed that I used, as I wanted to apply a growth regulator to the pasture for the thistles,” says Albert. “I didn’t take it to yield, but I wasn’t disappointed with it, and I cleaned out the thistles.”
As a first-generation farmer, Albert doesn’t have to worry about someone telling him what works and what doesn’t. “I was taught to think with a free mind,” he says. “I don’t know if I will make it, but if I do, it will be on my own accord, the same as if I fail.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ross Albert, 16742 E 400 North Rd., Heyworth, Ill. 61745 (ph 309 261-2230; ross.albwert88@gmail.com).


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2021 - Volume #45, Issue #2