Dennis - ya need to tell the folks that you are planting early because of your work load in Sept and October. It is too early to plant food plots because we will still have a lot of heat and dry conditions until Mid October which can shrivel the best laid plans. I am praying for rain none the less.
Well, not to argue, but yes and no.
I do have a big work load coming up, but have always planted wheat in the fields, and put in food plots in the first week of Sept. One can search past threads, and verify that from years past. On occasion I'll lease out the wheat for early pasture, if it looks healthy enough. It has to be planted in Sept for that.
This year has been exceptional with the drought, but as earlier stated, have standing water in some of the low spots worked last weekend with recent rains.
The ground temp is much lower with the moisture content we currently have in my area, vs other locations that have not had rain. The Northern part of the state cools off earlier than the southern.
Shoot, we had 58 degree temps Friday morning!
One must consider the local conditions before planting anything, as well as the genetics of the crop/food plot being planted as well as the soil ph as you well know.
My current seed wheat is some that has local roots, with test plots planted within a few miles of the farms, by the Johnson grain Co. bred to produce in semi-arid conditions.
The seed wheat I plant, would produce in SE OK, but the wheat genetically produced for SE Okla, would wither and die in my area while mine would thrive.
Several years ago , and in consecutive years, I've bought the test seeds from those folks that produce food plot seeds resulting in huge yields of Rape, etc, and have had very little success.
Called them, and discussed the location, soil type, ph, average rainfall, and to their benefit, they said they would not recommend selling us their seed, as it just is not designed for this type of environment. Too dry.
Different areas have different requirments.