Counties of: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux
Hot, dry, and windy conditions quickly dropped the grain moisture % of corn and soybeans in the field. Most of the harvest activity this week is focused on soybeans, but a lot of the corn is also ready to go as soon as possible. Overall, harvest progress is running a bit ahead of schedule. Today, we are getting a break with some light rain to settle the dust, but the long-term forecast looks mostly open for harvest over the next two weeks. It’s important to start rebuilding soil moisture this fall before the ground freezes, but it’s also nice to get harvest done early.
Soybean harvest is nearly half done in this area. The hot weather rapidly dried early maturity soybeans below 10% moisture which is not ideal. When beans get too dry, shatter losses at the combine occur and lost water weight (anything under 13% moisture) adds up to yield reductions. Despite this, soybean yields are coming in mostly better than expected. The biggest factors seem to be soil quality, rainfall amounts, and disease pressure. In this region white mold was a common disease especially on highly productive soils.
Corn harvest started on some farms. The early maturity corn is already around 17% moisture or less which is fairly dry for early October. Dry corn in the field will reduce drying costs this fall, but it also increases the potential for harvest losses and wind damage. Drought stressed corn tends to have weakened stalks so it’s important to prioritize those fields that need to come out first. The early yield reports on corn are more erratic than beans with some disappointing and some very good.
Please click on the links on the right to view the past pdf’s of our Northwest Crop Conditions reports.
1705 N Lake Ave
Storm Lake, IA 50588
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