Western Iowa Crop Report – 10/5/11

Soybean harvest will be mostly complete across North Central Iowa by Thursday, Oct. 6. Bean yields are averaging 60 bu/A in areas that normally produce yields of 50 bu/A. Some farmers are saying they’re getting the best soybean yields of their farming careers. Las Thursday, Sept. 29, high winds of 50 mph knocked some corn down. Stalk Rot is out there, so don’t wait for the corn to dry down too much. Check your corn fields and plan to take out the worst first.

Farmers in West Central Iowa started combining some corn before switching to soybeans. Harvest here is about 4 or 5 days behind North Central Iowa, so we haven’t received many yield reports here yet.

Prioritize Fields for Early Harvest

Crisp, cool mornings remind us that fall is just around the corner. The crop continues to move quickly towards maturity, and harvest will be in full swing across Latham Country in a couple of weeks.

According to a Sept. 6 crop report by the Iowa Department of Agriculture, 96% of the state’s corn crop has reached dough stage. Eighty-six percent of the corn is at or beyond the dent stage, and 14% of the corn crop is mature.

Time is of the essence! Plan a successful harvest by scouting fields and evaluating standability. Identify potential problem areas. Note crop progress, as well as insect and disease pressure. Pay particular attention to fields that were damaged by wind and hail, promoting stalk rot.

Stalk rot is caused by stress, including extreme heat and a lack of moisture. Many acres were stressed this season, so standability could be an issue in several fields. Note the severity and prioritize fields for harvest. Implementing a strategy of “harvesting the worst first” could really pay off this fall when you keep kernals off the ground and in your hopper. You’ll want to get as many bushels as possible with corn at $7 or more!

For more information on how to detect stalk rot, watch my two-minute video and click here to read a related blog post.

New Seed Technologies Are Proving Their Worth

Northwest Iowa

Harvest is slowly resuming after last week’s rainfall, says Tom Larson. Parts of northern Iowa received up to 12 inches of precipitation. Early reports show Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 (RR2) Yield Soybeans are dominating. One customer, who farms near Osage, called to report his Latham® L2440R2 averaged 71 bushel per acre (b/A). The first corn fields are also being harvested, and Latham® Hi-Tech Hybrids LH5896 VT3 is rising to the top again. As you harvest your crop, be in touch with your Latham rep to get started on next year’s success.

South Central Iowa

Travis Slusher says yesterday is the first time since last Friday that farmers were able to get in the fields due to high rainfall amounts. He rode a combine yesterday while Latham® Hi-Tech Hybrids LH6068 VT3 was being harvested. The plant health was exceptional with yields in the 180-bushel range, which is in the top end for that farmer. Stalk rot still needs to be watched closely as there are areas that are starting to show the effects of this, so corn growers need to manage this and try to harvest those areas as soon as possible.

How to Detect Stalk Rot

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West Central Iowa

Soybeans are ready to combine in Bart Peterson’s territory, and area farmers started hitting it hard yesterday as the soil dried enough for them to resume harvest. West Central Iowa is 5% done combing beans and about 10% done with corn. West Central Iowa will have one of its highest yielding bean years as plants have a lot of nodes and a lot of pods. Watch out for RR2: they’re going to prove their worth this year!

East Central Iowa

More corn has been harvested than soybeans in Brad Beatty’s area. Because of recent rainfall, the soybeans need some sunshine and warmer temps to dry them. Soybean harvest is expected to pick up this week. Those fields that have been harvested show the soybeans yielding about five bushels better than last year.

Wisconsin

During the last couple of days, a lot of soybeans are being harvested in Wisconsin. Many growers are seeing a yield bump from Latham® soybeans with the Genuity® RR2Y technology, says Steve Bailie. In a plot harvested Monday in South Central Wisconsin, Latham’s L2084R2 topped the plot with 71.4 b/A. A little corn was also harvested this past week; yields as high as 260 b/A are being reported in well-drained soils. There is talk that fertilizer prices will follow the corn and bean prices, so Steve says it might be a good idea to talk with your fertilizer supplier to see whether you can lock in prices for next year.

Northeast Iowa

Nick Benson reports things are moving fast in the northeast corner of Iowa. As yield results roll in, Latham® Hi-Tech Hybrids LH5426 VT3 Pro and Latham® Hi-Tech Soybeans L2440 RR2 are showing very well. Picking and choosing which fields to harvest first will continue to be a very important management decision as stalk rot takes hold in fields. With the tremendous amount of pods on soybean plants, lodging will start to be a concern.

Central Iowa

It’s been a wet week in central Iowa, says Kevin Meyer. Fortunately, there was no flooding and some harvest activity took place in between showers. Corn yields remain good with field moistures around 18 to 20%. Early hybrid plot data shows strong performances from LH5376 VT3, LH5494 3000GT, and LH5896 VT3.

Missouri

Cropping is going slow in the south, says Rick Foster. His area received another 1 to 3 inches of rain over the past two nights.