While cold, soggy fields are keeping many northern Indiana farmers on the sidelines this spring, growers in the southern part of the state are already racing ahead. One Hoosier farmer is now closing in on the finish line!
“We’ll be about 90-percent done on our soybeans, and about two-thirds done on our corn—so we’re well ahead of schedule,” according to Tom Nugent, who farms with his son near Elnora in Daviess County.
“Driving around here locally, about everybody is working at it. We’re all wondering if we’re in too big of a hurry, and we hope that we don’t have to do some replanting.”
He tells Hoosier Ag Today the weather conditions over the past several weeks have been far more favorable in southwestern Indiana.
“So, all of the ground is dry. It’s not worrisome dry, necessarily, there’s moisture and there’s water in the ditches, but it’s dry on the surface and just ideal planting weather,” he says. It’s also been relatively warm. We’ve had a few cool nights, but no freeze warnings.”
But, he says one challenge this spring has been the availability of seed.
“It’s just almost hand-to-mouth with the seed guys—no sooner as they get it in, it’s going out again,” says Nugent.
“I planted a little bit [Sunday] until I did run out of seed. We lacked eight acres of having a field done. So, [Monday], our seed man called up and said, ‘I was able to get you some more of that same number’. So, we said we can finish that field with the same variety instead of having to go to a different one that we’ve got here in the shed. So, it’s not overly abundant. That is what we’re worrying about if we have to do any replant—because we won’t be sure what seed product we’ll be able to get then.”
Nugent adds that he and his son have been using alternate measures to save on fertilizer and fuel costs.
“We’re down here where there’s chickens and turkeys—and we’ve spent money on chicken litter and turkey litter and cut back on the dry fertilizers,” according to Nugent. “We’re still putting our same mix on our starter of 28 Diasol, and still use anhydrous, but we’re cutting it back to reflect the litter that we’re putting on.”
“Also, no-tilling saves on fuel drastically versus tilling the ground, but you can only cut so much. You still have to drive the tractor and planter over the field—so, I don’t feel like cut our fuel use anymore,” he says.
For now, the contrast between Indiana’s slow start in the north and fast-moving south underscores the uneven start to the 2026 planting season, with some farmers idled while others push toward completion. Nugent’s progress highlights both the opportunity and the risk of an early push—favorable conditions have accelerated fieldwork, but tight seed supplies and the potential need for replanting leave little margin for error as the season unfolds.
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