Spring has arrived in the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains. With the change in the season, farmers are feeling optimistic about the 2025 crop season.

While most farmers haven’t been able to get started in the field quite yet, that doesn’t mean they aren’t busy. Most farmers are spending their days prepping equipment, finishing up 2024 paperwork and checking on inventory.

Minnesota farmer and NSM Chairman Glen Groth is also a seed dealer. Not only does he need to monitor his own inventory, but he has to deliver the seed to his customers as well.

In Wisconsin, NSM member Nancy Kavazanjian is prepping for her new See and Spray, which just arrived at the dealership.

“They’ll be getting that ready for us so we can do our burn down because we have cover crops on practically everything,” she said.

With the lack of winter snow across the region, spring has started out a little drier than growers typically prefer. This also meant there was no snow cover for cover crops, which could lead to yield concerns. Kavazanjian has an appointment at the Farm Service Agency office to sign up for USDA programs, including the recently announced Emergency Commodity Assistance Program.

So, when can the 2025 planting season begin? Time will tell, and NSM directors are preaching patience.

“It’s still plenty cold,” Kavazanjian said. “We had a pretty open winter, so we know there’s a lot of frost in the ground. It might not be an early planting year, but of course it’s only March so it’s hard to tell.”

Uncertainty is a prevailing theme in 2025, as trade tensions remain among U.S. agriculture’s top customers. Groth said he’s maintaining an even keel.

“There’s a lot of anxiety over the prices of corn and soybeans right now,” Groth said, “but ultimately, you know, we’re going to do our best to grow a good crop and look for opportunities that may arise.”