Early-season planting of corn and soybean has gained popularity, especially in the northern states were the length of the growing season is a limitation for maximizing yield

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded The Ohio State University $299,988 on May 1, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI, CFDA 10.310) to conduct field research on planting depth and early-season planting in corn and soybean.

The recipient will execute three research aims: determine how planting depth influences emergence of corn and soybean under early-planted conditions using field research trials; quantify how conditions around planting influence emergence to develop a planting depth recommendation tool; and disseminate results through extension channels to improve production efficiency and help farmers optimize planting depth for emergence uniformity when planting earlier than usual. The research addresses the need to better understand planting depth's role in establishment for northern states where growing-season length limits yield and early-planted seeds must withstand extended periods of cold soil temperatures prior to emergence.

Work is performed in Columbus, Ohio. The award funds a multi-state research team with extensive experience in seed germination and crop establishment. The period of performance runs through April 30, 2029.

South Dakota State University serves as a sub-recipient, providing field sites in South Dakota and leadership of data collection at South Dakota sites under a sub-award issued July 15, 2026.

In these regions, early-planted seeds may need to withstand longer than normal periods of cold soil temperatures prior to emergence as compared to later-planted seeds. There is a critical need to better understand the role planting depth plays in influencing establishment in field crops to ensure the greatest success at leveraging early planting dates while also producing acceptable and uniform stands to minimize management challenges later in the season. We plan to address this need through three aims: I) determine how planting depth influences emergence of corn and soybean under early-planted conditions using field research trials; II) quantify how conditions around planting influence emergence to develop a planting depth recommendation tool; and III) improve production efficiency through dissemination of results through extension channels. We expect to identify the most critical factors in the planting environment to help a farmer better set planting depth to ensure emergence uniformity when planting earlier than usual. We also anticipate improving efficiency of farming practices to better leverage the lengthening growing season. Our multi-state research team has extensive experience in researching seed germination and crop establishment, and has strong experience in extension communication and teaching to ensure farmers will benefit from the research knowledge gained during the project.