Crop Conditions

Fall is in the air but with warm temps in the forecast. Highs in the 80’s for most
of the 10-day forecast will bring along crop maturity and dry-down. Good rain
coverage this past weekend helped to keep drydown from happening too fast, and
added some weight to the kernels on crops that are not yet mature. Some harvest
has begun on poorer ground on the Missouri River bottom. Yields are
poor as you would expect from anything ready to harvest in early September.
Yields will improve as we move into the crops which have held more normal
maturity. Some areas will see pretty good yields. Good soils always provide
better staying power during dry periods, especially when coupled with solid
fertility programs. This is a year where irrigators will provide huge returns for
those fields that can justify them over the long-term.

USDA’s September report (World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimate, WASDE)
came out today. Reductions to corn and bean yields and acres, meaning supplies
will be pulled tigher. This will affect demand over the long haul, but today’s
price reaction was 11 cents higher on corn and 76 cents higher on soybeans.
As has occurred most years in recent times, the “harvest low” appears to have been
posted in late summer, prior to harvest.

Land prices and volume continue strong. We’re not seeing the huge price jumps
as seen earlier but certainly maintaining earlier gains with new highs being posted
in given areas not uncommon at all.

The pictures shown above were taken in the past few days of two of the main rivers in this area.
Picture #1: The Little Sioux is nearing record low flow for this time of year.
Picture #2: The Maple is about dried up in Cherokee County.