Here is some preliminary soybean yield results that have come in from our test plots this season. Check back for more info as harvest rolls on.
For more info on plot results, visit our website at www.lathamseeds.com.
Latham® Hi-Tech Soybeans are producing record yields this fall. One of our new Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ Soybeans recently topped a plot in Dallas County, Iowa, with record 80.2 bushels per acre (b/A).
“This is the first time that we’ve raised 80-bushel beans,” says Dale Meyers, whose family farms near Redfield. He and his son, Michael, also have a Latham dealership. “I believe the early planting date and good seed bed were key. Fortunately we had good planting conditions and received timely rains throughout the growing season.”
Meyers planted his soybean test plot on May 9 in a field that had previously been planted to corn with minimum tillage. He and Michael chiseled the ground last fall and then field cultivated in the spring after applying Trifluralin. Their plot averaged 71.36 bu/A, which is well above his farm’s average of 66.7 bu/A.
Variety selection is one of the most important factors to producing 80-bushel yields, according to Iowa State University (ISU) Extension agronomist Palle Pedersen. Pedersen says that raising a bumper crop begins with preseason planning including:
Meyers agrees that seed selection is key.
**Latham® is a registered trademark of Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids, Inc.
Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield™ soybeans are trademarks of Monsanto Technology Group LLC
Iowa State University raises some good points about the delayed crop development that we’ve experienced this season. The 2009 season, in some areas, is mirroring the 2008 growing season. Many crops experienced several stress factors including wet, cool growing conditions, hail and strong winds.
Last season top corn hybrids throughout the industry experienced stalk lodging, so we’ll want to keep that in mind as harvest approaches. Continue to monitor your fields and note areas where there are hybrids with stalks that have been bruised by bad weather or where there are weaker stalks due to the growing conditions. Plan to harvest those areas first for a more successful harvest season.
Rich Pope of the Department of Plant Pathology and Elwynn Taylor from the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University released this article recently that could be of help to farmers in evaluating performance this harvest season.
2009 Season in Degree Days through Late August
Degree days are a critical driver of crop development, and 2009 certainly illustrates that point. Wet soils and cool early season temperatures delayed some plantings and also delayed the development of crops that were planted on time. The early vegetative stages were slowed by cooler-than-normal temperatures, then July arrived with a remarkably un-summerlike chill that lasted the whole month.
Crop stages remained stagnant for three weeks, with corn silking and soybean pod set both delayed by ten days to two weeks in most areas. Because the weather is one major variable that we cannot change, but only observe and take action based on those observations, comparing 2009 with previous years is at least interesting, if not instructive for harvest-season planning.
The graph below illustrates the march of departures from long-term average degree day accumulations for 2009 and selected other years. The graph depicts the three most recent seasons; includes 1992, 2003 and 2004- three years that have compared with 2009, and 1994- a year that generated remarkably good yields.
Over the past eight days, Soybean Aphid populations in the Alexander, IA area have been increasing dramatically. I’ve been monitoring the aphid populations for the past several weeks and noticed a significant increase in numbers on August 6th. That day, I started to intensify my scouting methods and focused on soybean fields for Latham Farms especially. I adhere to the economic threshold of 250 aphids/plant on 80% of the plants through podset. In every field that I scouted on the 6th and 7th, I found populations to be below threshold. A few were in the 40-50% category but most were at 25% and less. In many areas, it was difficult to find individual plants that were at or close to threshold.
That changed drastically over the next 3-4 days! I started scouting again on Tuesday and was amazed to find all but one of the fields at economic threshold and that one was at 75%. Obviously, we made the decision to apply an insecticide to those fields and work began that next day. Over the past two days I’ve received similar reports from Latham production growers in our area and other farmers as well. It would appear that most soybean aphids in our immediate area will be treated with an insecticide soon if they haven’t been already.
One word of caution! If your soybean fields are not at threshold, don’t be tempted to spray an insecticide too quickly. I’ve already received several reports of farmers who went ahead and added an insecticide to their last application of glyphosate herbicide just because it was “convenient” to do it at that time. These farmers are now spraying an insecticide again to control the aphid population that exploded in the recent week. Essentially, when they sprayed the first time, they killed whatever beneficial insects were in their fields at that earlier time leaving the door wide open for aphids from the neighboring fields to infest theirs!
By the way, over the years I’ve developed my own method of speed scouting for Soybean Aphid. If you’re having trouble following other methods, contact me and I will explain what I do.
Here’s the latest planting update excerpted from the Aug. 11 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service bulletin (for week ending Aug. 8):
Corn: Acreage at or beyond the silking stage reached 89 percent by week’s end, 2 points behind last year and 
7 points slower than the 5-year average. Crop development was at or behind in all States except Colorado, where 27 percent of the crop began silking during the week, leaving progress 9 points ahead of the average. Meanwhile, 24 percent of the Nation’s crop was at or beyond the dough stage, 4 points behind last year and 22 points, or over 1 week, behind normal. The biggest delays were evident in Illinois and Indiana, where progress was more than 2 weeks behind the 5-year average. Acreage in the dent stage, at 5 percent, was 1 point behind last year and 9 points behind normal. Denting had not yet begun in most of the Corn Belt, but was ahead of the 5-year average in Texas. Overall, 68 percent of the corn crop was rated in good to excellent condition, unchanged from a week ago, but 1 point better than last year.
Soybeans: Nationally, 86 percent of this year’s soybean crop was at or beyond the blooming stage, 1 point behind last year and 7 points behind the average. Blooming was active across much of the growing region; however, progress remained at or behind the 5-year average in all estimating States. Pod set was evident in 55 percent of the crop by August 9, two points behind last year and 17 points behind normal. The crop in Illinois, Michigan, and North Dakota experienced lags of 34 points or more, leaving progress over 1 week behind normal. Overall, 66 percent of the soybean crop was rated in good to excellent condition, down 1 point from last week, but 3 points better than a year ago.
…accommodations before or after the ride, here are some nearby options:
Cutty’s Okoboji Resort Club
1528 Hwy 86
Spirit Lake, IA
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The Inn at Okoboji
(712) 332-2113, ext. 155
3301 Lakeshore Drive
Okoboji, IA
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Arrowwood
1405 U.S. Hwy 71
Okoboji, IA
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(800) 727-4561
Bridges Bay
(712) 332-2161
640 Linden Dr.
Arnolds Park, IA
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AmericInn
(712) 332-9000
(800) 396-5007
1005 Brooks Park Dr.
Okoboji, IA
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Ramada Inn
(712) 336-3984
2704 17th St.
Spirit Lake, IA
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Super 8
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Spirit Lake, IA
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Here’s the latest planting update excerpted from the July 28 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service bulletin (for week ending July 25):
Corn: Silking advanced 24 points during the week, leaving progress, at 55 percent complete, on par with last year, but 21 points behind the 5-year average. Under ideal growing conditions, development was most rapid in the Corn Belt. Thirty-four percent of the crop began silking in Iowa and Minnesota during the week, while 27 percent of the crop in Illinois reached the silking stage. Meanwhile, 7 percent of the Nation’s corn acreage was at or beyond the dough stage, equaling the maturity pace from a year ago, but 10 points slower than normal. At 80 percent complete, doughing was most advanced in North Carolina, while the crop had yet to reach the dough stage in Iowa and Minnesota, as well as in the northern Great Plains and Great Lakes regions. Overall, 70 percent of the corn crop was rated in good to excellent condition, down slightly from a week ago, but up 4 points from a year ago.
Soybeans: Nationally, 63 percent of this year’s soybean crop was at or beyond the blooming stage, 3 points ahead of last year, but 13 points behind the average. Following a sluggish start to spring planting, crop development advanced rapidly across much of the growing region, but remained at or behind the average pace in all States except South Dakota. Pod set was evident in 20 percent of the 2009 soybean crop by July 26, one point ahead of last year, but 16 points behind the 5-year average. Pod set had begun in all estimating States, but was most advanced in the Delta, with Mississippi leading all States at 86 percent complete. Overall, 67 percent of the crop was rated in good to excellent condition, unchanged from last week, but 5 points better than last year.
Here’s the latest planting update excerpted from the July 21 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service bulletin (for week ending July 18):
Corn: By week’s end, 31 percent of the Nation’s corn crop was at or beyond the silking stage, on par with last year, but 23 points, or slightly over a week, behind the 5-year average. Despite significant jumps in development during the week, large phenological delays remained in Illinois and Indiana where the corn crop struggled to overcome setbacks caused by a slow start to planting earlier in the season. Overall, 71 percent of this year’s crop was rated in good to excellent condition, unchanged from a week ago, but up 6 percent from last year.
Soybeans: Blooming advanced 20 points during the week, leaving progress, at 44 percent complete, slightly ahead of last year, but 18 points behind the 5-year average. The crop was most developed in the Delta States of Louisiana and Mississippi; however progress was at or behind normal in all estimating States. In Wisconsin, continued cool, dry weather hampered crop development and caused a significant decline in crop conditions, as well. Overall, 67 percent of the soybean crop was rated in good to excellent condition, compared with 66 percent last week and 61 percent last year.
When everything was looking the best it has in years, a hail storm hit northwest Iowa. The storm extended from southwest of Sioux Center to east of Terril. Some fields that got hit don’t look too bad, but others are a total loss for both corn and soybeans.
At this point in the summer, crops are extremely susceptible to hail damage. From about three weeks after emergence through the tasseling stage, corn is at the highest risk for severe yield loss due to hail. This is because the growing point is above the ground and the corn is growing rapidly. Once through the tasseling stage, yield loss due to hail is significantly less.
Here’s some photos of the damage in NW Iowa fields.
Here’s the latest planting update excerpted from the July 14 USDA National Agricultural Service bulletin (for week ending July 11)
Corn: Nationally, 16 percent of this year’s corn crop was at or beyond the
silking stage, 4 points ahead of last year, but 16 points behind the 5-year
average. Progress remained at or behind the average in all States except
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas where 92, 22, and 79 percent of the crop was silking, respectively. Progress was 2 weeks and just over 1 week behind the average pace in Illinois and Indiana, the second and fifth largest corn-producing States, respectively, while silking had not yet begun in South Dakota. With 71 percent of the crop rated good to excellent, conditions were unchanged from a week ago and 7 points above last year.
Soybeans: By week’s end, soybeans blooming advanced to 24 percent complete, 1 point slower than the pace a year ago and 19 points slower than normal. The most rapid development was evident in the western Corn Belt where 18 and 16 percent of the crop began blooming in Nebraska and Iowa, respectively. However, all estimating States lagged the 5-year average. Overall, 66 percent of the crop was rated in good to excellent condition, unchanged from a week ago and 7 points better than last year.
