Jochum Wiersma, Extension small grains specialist This is my next installment in the 'how much is too much' series of blog posts. As of March 25th, the US Drought Monitor has all of Minnesota either rated as abnormally dry or in a moderate drought. That probably has you wonder how deep you can seed wheat, barley, and oats to get it into moisture. Ideally, we like you to seed wheat, barley, and oats around 1.5 inches deep. The idea is that the seed should be placed deep enough to have access to adequate moisture yet shallow enough to emerge as quickly as possible. Seeds too close to the surface absorb moisture but are at risk of dying because roots cannot reach moisture quickly enough to sustain the germination and seedling growth. Deeper seeding can reduce stand density and plant vigor because of the inability of the coleoptile to reach the surface. Given the dry conditions, the question arises how deep we dare to drill wheat, barley, and oats down to place the seed into