What is your target date for fall planting?

Down in South Texas, due to heat and army worms I try to plant around October 1st or that first week at the earliest. Some years it can be mid October if the army worms are bad. The heat can be tough on food plots when you plant to early.
If you are farther north of this area then you can probably plant a little earlier.

My goal is September 21, will plant a week earlier or later depending on forecast rain.

I always like to plant around mid September. Last year got hit with army worms, and hogs. The hogs did more damage than the army worms, Depending on the moisture, I will try and plant about the same time time this year, or as soon as I get back from Utah, elk hunt. I only plant about 10 acres, so I am not taking as big a risk as some of the large fields.

I'll start shredding and discing about Sep 1. By Sep 21 I should have lime and fertilizer down and waiting for Leon Carr to show up with the seeds.

If you are planting around Collin county, I always planted my wheat/oat/turnip plots around Sept 15th. The rest depends on what you are going to plant and when do you want it to green up. Just be very careful with wheat. Planting it too early can be a recipe for disaster as Army worms will wipe it out over night if around.

Like I posted in another thread, I like to throw some Throw N Gro extreme oats in my productive soybean plots around mid August, that way when the beans brown up right before bow season, the Throw N Gro is nice and green. But, that is only if I intend to keep the beans standing for winter food.

I shoot for Oct. 1.

Mid September if the army worms have finished their thing , last year planted mid August, they came up beautifully, then disappeared overnight lol

Army worms tore me up last year. Do you guys think by October they will be gone?

Only the worms know. Pretty much depends on the temperature. The NRCS - USDA usually keeps good tabs on them, you might check with your local rep.

I found this forecast on 7/16/19, the area under reference is East Texas.

"Fall armyworms could follow rainfall delivered by Tropical Storm Barry, warns a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agents in a few Central and East Texas counties have reported armyworm activity in hayfields and pastures over the past few weeks. Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson, AgriLife Extension forage specialist in Overton, said producers should expect an increase in armyworm numbers, especially in areas where Tropical Storm Barry delivers rainfall and cooler temperatures.

“I’ve seen a few reports about armyworms, and this expected rain could mean an explosion in their populations,” she said. “Armyworms can devastate grazing and forage production pastures quickly. So producers need to be mindful to watch their pastures for the pest. It is shaping up to be a good hay production year following such a poor season, and it would be a shame to lose a cutting or valuable grazing to armyworms.”

Armyworm moths can lay up to 2,000 eggs that hatch in two to three days, according to a 2015 report by AgriLife Extension entomologist Dr. Allen Knutson. There are typically four to five generations per year.

Corriher-Olson said armyworm caterpillars are picky eaters that prefer high-quality, fertilized forage typically found on fields maintained for hay production. They are a common pest of Bermuda grass, sorghum, corn, wheat, ryegrass and many other crops in northern and central Texas.

Producers should scout each morning for armyworms, she said. Armyworms are night feeders that try to avoid daytime temperatures. They are green, brown or black in color and can be identified by the white inverted Y on their head. Armyworms, which can grow up to 1 inch in length when mature, got their name because they appear to march across hay fields, consuming the grass in their path.

The threshold for insecticide spray treating a pasture is three or more armyworms per square foot, Corriher-Olson said. Armyworms in those numbers should be treated immediately. Armyworms in the last two or three days of their larvae stage consume 85 percent of their diet.

Corriher-Olson recommends insecticides labeled for armyworm control in pastures and hayfields. She said applicators should always follow all label instructions on pesticide use and restrictions.

“You don’t need to wait a day if their numbers are at threshold,” she said. “They are going to do a lot of damage quickly. If you find them in the morning, spray that day.”

More information about armyworms can be found in Knutson’s report The Fall Armyworm – Pest of Pastures and Hay at: http://foragefax.tamu.edu/files/2015/08/Armyworm-Fact-Sheet-2015.pdf."

Me, I just plant as late as possible. I use the Oct 1st data as a "not before" date. I'm in DeWitt County.