DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Mother's Day is a benchmark that determines an early or late crop for many farmers. It also means celebrations for "Mom" can get crushed in the rush to complete field operations that need to be accomplished around the second week of May.

This year, DTN's View From the Cab farmers hope to slow a step for proper holiday remembrances. Stuart Sanderson, of Madison, Alabama, still has 500 acres to plant, but when reporting in on May 8, wet conditions had mostly cleared his calendar of fieldwork for the foreseeable future.

On the flip side, dry conditions left the window wide open for Ethan Zoerb to finish planting in central Nebraska where he farms near Litchfield this week. "I can't remember ever being planted this early," he said.

Sure, there's still plenty to do, such as the need to sidedress corn in Alabama and laying down residual herbicides in Nebraska. However, the farmers hoped to squeeze in a legitimate Mother's Day hug for the women who make their lives richer.

Zoerb and Sanderson are reporting in each week as part of DTN's View From the Cab, a diary-like feature that talks about crop conditions and life on the farm. This week, the series asks the farmers to contemplate the importance of "Mom."

Weather might seem like a more natural topic, but it may be just as emotional this year. Read on to learn more about what is happening at each farm, including comments about what's happening on the weather front from DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

ETHAN ZOERB: LITCHFIELD, NEBRASKA

Starting the growing season in a D2 (severe drought) ranking is obviously not ideal. This week, as the farm finished up planting, the Zoerb Farms crew began starting irrigation wells.

"We're either watering in the herbicide or watering the seed to get emergence. The way the forecast is looking right now, we're going to be full-bore irrigation starting next week," Zoerb said. Getting those units moving for the first time can be a chore and getting stuck is always a possibility on the first few rounds.

"We'd probably do something really sketchy if it would bring us a rain right now," he added, trying to inject some dry wit to the dry outlook. The rain received last week wasn't as widespread as first thought, nor did the moisture last long between winds and heat.

However, the dry weather has allowed the farm's three planters to finish up seeding corn and soybeans earlier than Zoerb can remember. "We've had some dreary, overcast days, but I'll bet there hasn't been more than four or five days since early April that we couldn't run," he said.

In fact, this year he slowed down operations. "I could have finished bean planting a few days earlier. Our planter will run 7 miles an hour (mph), but I stuck on 5.2 mph and really worked at doing a better job placing the seed," he said.

All the farm had left to plant on May 8 was a 30-acre patch where the cows have been grazing. "We've been trying to delay putting the cows on grass as long as possible," he said. "The pastures are green, but only 4 to 6 inches tall. I've heard there are some farmers in the area already feeding hay to make their meager pasture growth last as long as possible."

This dry account echoes what DTN's Baranick is seeing. "The middle of Nebraska has had some good planting weather so far. It's been largely dry and warm for the last month or so. But that dryness is really concerning. Widespread drought has dug in across most of the state and central areas have some of the worst drought on the Drought Monitor map right now," said Baranick.

"The Zoerbs are going to be hopeful that a system moving through in the middle of the week (May 11-May 16), and another over the weekend, can bring in some rainfall. If not, it's going to be rather tough on the newly planted crop. Temperatures will be summer-like in the 80s (Fahrenheit) to start the week, but a front coming through midweek should cool them back into the 70s. If they don't get the rain, they're going to want some cooler temperatures to keep the early stress down as the crop emerges," he noted.

So far, corn emergence looks good, Zoerb said, maybe even better than last year. He estimated at least half of their 2025 corn has spiked. He'll be doing stand counts this coming week to get a better assessment.

Other chores on the list for the coming week include finishing up pre-emergence herbicide applications aimed at tackling the farm's most troublesome weed, Palmer amaranth. Marestail and kochia are next on his most wanted list.

But this year, he and his wife, Nichole, and their five children, look forward to a more relaxed Mother's Day. Surrounded by family all day, every day, doesn't diminish the need to express a thankfulness for the support they offer through a visit or some kind words, Zoerb said.

Nor should those gestures be reserved only for designated days. "Those field meals and all those other things my wife help to keep the farm, and me, going -- especially in busy seasons," he said.

Zoerb describes his mother, Linda, as a one-woman pit crew buzzing around to lend assistance wherever needed. "If anyone needs anything -- inside the family or out -- she's the first person to raise her hand," Zoerb said.

"From running for parts, to mowing and keeping the farmstead tidy, to helping with older family members, she's just always there, asking what she can do next. I like to think some of this willingness to help others -- a trait both of my parents have -- rubbed off on me. I sure admire them for it," he said.

STUART SANDERSON: MADISON, ALABAMA

Under normal circumstances, things can dry out in a hurry in northern Alabama's sandy, silt loam soils. However, getting slightly more than 5 inches of rain during the past week put a different spin on things for Stuart Sanderson and the rest of his partners at Henderson Farms.

"We're wet. And we've got a good chance of more. I'd like to spread this rain out over the next few months, but we can work better with it than without," he said.

Baranick noted that mild weather has accompanied those frequent and sometimes too-heavy rain events in northern Alabama. "An upper-level low that moved in last week (May 7) is going to stick around with periods of showers until Tuesday. That's a long time for one system to affect an area," he said.

"And then, we'll probably see that system that goes through Nebraska over the weekend make it into Alabama either over the weekend or early next week with more chances for rain. At least they're not dealing with drought, but they've got some wetness issues for sure," Baranick said.

Sanderson noted that typically the region is prone to turning hot and dry toward June. "We've irrigated corn in April when we planted early, and it turned off dry," Sanderson said.

"So far, though, the current corn crop looks phenomenal. We've probably got 3,000 acres at the V6 stage and the last 500 acres we planted had good emergence," he reported.

"Wheat has started to change colors, so it's started its dry-down process," Sanderson added, noting that the first wheat cutting should begin by end of May.

The farm crew hoped to find some higher ground that might have dried out enough to allow sidedressing this week. They use a high clearance sprayer fitted with EZ-Drops to apply 28-0-0-5 (28% nitrogen with 5% sulfur).

Sanderson said they moved to these drops because they are lighter weight and allow to build out a full boom to cover more ground with a 120-foot pass. Dryland corn typically gets some nitrogen at planting, followed with one sidedress application. Irrigated corn usually gets a split sidedress application.

"We're going to have to see how this goes this year. The corn is growing fast, and these rains may dictate that we put everything out in one sidedress application," he said.

The farm has 500 acres of river bottom ground that was originally designated for corn. "If we don't get another drop of rain, it will be eight or nine days before we can plant. That's getting a bit far into May for my comfort on corn. More than likely, those acres are going to soybeans," he said.

Sanderson said they won't back off on maturity on either soybeans or corn with May plantings, since there's no shortage of sunshine and heat units in this region. They plant full-season 116-day corn and soybean varieties fall into mid-Group IV maturity ranges.

A trip to Mississippi this week was eye-opening. "There's more corn planted down here this year than I've ever seen," he reported.

Mother's Day will likely entail a visit with his mother and mother-in-law, who both live in close proximity.

His mother, Barbara Candy, grew up on the home farm, but went off to school and subsequently carved out a career with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He credits her work ethic for shaping many of his own habits and philosophies.

"She taught me to be self-sufficient and to work hard," he said. "From an early age, she had me fixing my own breakfast and doing laundry and other household chores."

The importance of self-reliance was among the values he stressed with his own son, Spencer. "Mom always said keep my character and integrity because once tarnished, it's really hard to get back.

"She also fully supported my career choice to return to the farm after college," he added. "She allowed me to make or take the opportunities I thought were best for me without pressure. That meant a lot."

Sanderson's wife, Suzie, also works full-time for NASA. While not technically involved in the day-to-day farming operations, she spends late night and weekend hours helping support the farm, especially with IT (information technology) and logistics needs.

Just being married to a farmer deserves some credit and the couple has found a way to juggle the stress of busy seasons. "We made an agreement early in our marriage that we both can't have a bad day on the same day," he said. "Sometimes, we have to sacrifice our own bad day for the comfort of the other."

That's a Mother's Day sentiment worth celebrating.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @PamSmithDTN

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