CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — It’s about that time. Farmers are heading back to the fields to plant their crops for the season.

The nice weather is a welcome sign, but there’s more to the science than just feeling comfortable outside.

WCIA spoke with the manager of Clearview Farms in Champaign and they already have their early spring crops planted and starting to pop up. That includes oats, flax, canola, red clover, and alfalfa.

The Clearview team says the nice stretch of weather early this month gave them the green light, but there are some other crops that need better conditions.

The two big factors are soil moisture and soil temperature. Planting into soil that’s too wet can affect early seed growth, and soil temperatures need to be above 50 degrees.

“If we get a warm stretch of weather maybe we’ll put a little bit in and get started, but these crops were all fairly difficult to obtain, and I can’t take a chance on a crop failure. So, we may hold back a little longer on planting these crops,” says Manager Jim Goss.

He says they’re still waiting to plant sweet corn, white corn, sunflowers, and more.