Crop Conditions

After a long rain delay, harvest finally got going this week. September ended up being one of the wettest months on record across much of Iowa and our region. Rainfall totals ranged from about 6 to 14 inches depending on the area, with the highest amounts in southwest Iowa.
The good news is that our subsoil was very dry going into September, so much of that rainfall was absorbed into the soil rather than running off into creeks or ponding on the surface. The crops and topsoil have dried out this week, allowing harvest to get moving. The extended forecast looks favorable, with mostly dry conditions expected throughout most of October.

The activity this week has been focused on soybeans. In our territory, soybean harvest is less than 20% complete, which is slightly behind schedule. We should be able to catch up quickly with the favorable weather. I would say about 10% of the soybean crop will be harvested per day this week.

One of the biggest topics with soybeans is the purple staining and discolored beans coming out of the field, along with some mold and damaged beans. This was caused by the extended wet conditions in September leading to a widespread fungal disease. We have some concerns about how the beans will store in bins, as well as seed quality for seed growers. So far, however, most of the beans going to market have not been getting damage discounts at the elevators. From an economic standpoint, this has not been a big problem so far. Another positive is that soybean yields have generally been as good or better than expected.

Corn harvest had started on a few farms before the wet weather arrived, with a couple more fields coming out last weekend, but nearly everyone has been focused on soybeans this week. The earlier-maturity corn is running around 17% moisture, while full-season corn is still over 20%, which is fairly normal for early October. Yield levels on corn look to be near average on most farms.

The drought-stressed corn tends to have weaker stalks, so it will be important to prioritize those fields that need to come out first. There has also been quite a bit of discussion and photos going around of corn sprouting on the cob, which causes damaged corn and storage concerns. I have not personally found sprouting corn to be a widespread problem in the fields I have been checking.

The worst-case situation appears to be early-maturity corn that had already dried down in the field before the September rains. It absorbed a lot of moisture after it was already dry, which is where we are seeing the sprouting and, in my opinion, some of the worst stalk rot also. Those fields should be harvested as soon as possible.