Northwest Crop Conditions (Chad reporting) Weather troubles in this area started in late-March when heavy snow cover combined with rain and rapid warming caused extensive flooding. The worst hit areas were southwest of our region in Nebraska, but the Big Sioux and Little Sioux Rivers in NW Iowa also had major flooding. These were the same areas that flooded multiple times last year. April and May were cold and wet. Much of this area received more than 15 inches of rain during that time, which is about twice the average amount. Standing water on farms with poor drainage was common. For the second year in a row the northern tier of this area had the heaviest rainfall amounts. This is also where planting was delayed the worst. More than half of the corn was planted after May 15th, and a large portion of the soybeans were planted in June. This late start will limit yield potential on both crops, but the weather during the second half of the growing season will also have an influence – good or bad. In the wettest areas, some farms intended to go to corn this year will sit idle. The “prevent plant” provision in multi-peril insurance coverag
Over the past decade it has been common to see an active land market all twelve months of the year. Prior to that, it was common for spring to be very quiet for land activity. April, May, and early June would see only a handful of sales around the region. By late June, activity would begin to increase as estate settlement sales would begin again, with increasing activity each month thereon. 2019’s activity has been somewhat of a reversion to the “old days” with few public auction offerings during the spring months. We did see several auction sales in April, mainly in the northwesternmost counties of the state, but tracked only one public auction in our territory for the month of May. Limited activity resumed beginning in mid-June.
Beginning a new job with Stalcup Ag Service in the fall of 1973, I truly had no idea what was ahead and how much I would learn. Below are some observations to pass along as I approach retirement this summer: •Mentors from Stalcup (Buck Stalcup, Arne Waldstein, Dwight Young) and from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers throughout the nation were some of the best in the business. Each of them contributed to an excellent foundation of knowledge. I owe them my career and have tried to pay it forward by teaching farm management and also mentoring those who will succeed me
Watchers of the Weather Channel already know this story – continual rains and flooding which began in March did not let up for many areas of the Corn Belt until well into June. Nebraska made the news in March when the “bomb cyclone” tore across Nebraska, South Dakota, and into Minnesota and Wisconsin, resulting in blizzards, heavy rains, and historic flood damages across Nebraska. That was followed by rainfall which would not abate across not only South Dakota and Minnesota, but also the southern and eastern Corn Belt. Both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers have run at historic flood stages. Many of their tributaries are similar
2019 cash rents held firm despite the fourth year of falling net farm profits. 2020 will be a different year with volatile changes in farm profit from one farm to the next. Some things to consider: 1. Planting date of the 2019 crops – in some areas corn was planted in late April and early May while in other areas it was not planted until the first week of June. Timely planted corn will have normal yield prospects but June planted corn is looking at a 30 to 40% yield reduction and potentially Federal Crop Insurance claims
