Though snow is covering the ground in the Midwest with temperatures well below zero, farmers don’t stop moving. Late January marked the coldest week in the Midwest this winter, with temperatures nearing -40 degrees and winds gusting up to 30 mph. Despite the extreme cold temperatures, producers still need to plan for the busy planting season ahead.
“We still have winter book work to do. Right now we are adding up and accounting for the previous growing year to see how we shook out financially,” Northern Soy Marketing (NSM) Chair Glen Groth said. “We’re making plans for the following year by pre-paying fertilizer and chemical, making our seed plans for the year.”
Many farmers spend the winter opening their books to track records from the previous year to plan for the 2026 planting season. In addition to office work, farmers are in their shops doing tractor maintenance to save valuable time when planting starts.
“It’s a lot of doing maintenance in the shop,” NSM Vice Chair David Struck said. “We’ve been rebuilding planters lately and also have been hauling our soybeans to the elevator.”
Winter maintenance means getting the equipment ready for next year’s growing season. For many farmers, this work includes greasing moving parts, replacing worn components, cleaning machinery from the previous season and making adjustments or redesigns to improve efficiency. Farmers may rebuild planters, inspect hoses and belts, update technology and address small repairs that could cause delays during planting.
“Winter maintenance is important so that when we get in the field, we don’t have downtime,” said Struck, who farms in South Dakota. “Everything – planting, spraying, harvesting – seems to have such a narrow window now and we’re so fast paced.”
With equipment maintenance underway and the 2026 farming season already being planned while snow remains on the ground, farmers position themselves to move efficiently when spring arrives. Another way farmers are able to plan is by attending educational meetings.
“Meeting season is also upon us, so I attend those to keep up on education to know what’s going on around the world,” said Groth, who farms in southeast Minnesota. “I look for grain marketing and farm financial marketing workshops and those are always good opportunities to learn about growing more with less money.”
Before planting begins, Groth will represent NSM on a trade mission March 16-22 to visit with buyers in Vietnam.
