Optimizing corn and soybean seeding rates

The first half of April has been a little cooler than normal, with a wide range in rainfall totals, from an inch or more below normal in northwestern Illinois to 6-8 inches above normal in south-southeastern Illinois.

While it’s too early to consider planting in wet soil, there is no reason not to plant as soon as conditions allow.

Seed costs for corn and soybeans have risen considerably in recent years, along with genetic yield potential and improved ability of planted seeds to emerge and establish productive plants. This improvement, along with better planting technology, has decreased seeding rates for soybean over the past two decades.

Still, seed accounts for 34% of direct costs to produce soybeans in 2025, and 26% of direct costs to produce corn. While there’s little gain in risking yield loss from having too few plants in the field, we want to avoid having more plants than needed to maximize the economic return to seed.