Crop Conditions

Harvest has started on limited acres of both corn and soybeans, but wet weather has essentially brought progress to a halt. It feels strange to say this after the dry summer we had, but at this point, we really don’t need any more rain. Over the last 30 days, our region has received between 3 and 10 inches. When the rain started falling in late August it was beneficial to the crops, but most of the September rainfall was just too late. On the positive side, it helped begin rebuilding soil moisture for next year. Looking ahead, wet weather is expected to continue for at least another week, so we are hoping for an open harvest window after that in early October.

Corn across our region is mature, and the early-maturity corn is generally dry enough to harvest if field conditions were fit. The biggest risks to the corn are stalk rot, crown rot, and ear rot, along with the possibility that extended wet weather could delay harvest.

The corn had significant heat and moisture stress this season, which causes the corn to pull nutrients from the stalk to prioritize grain. As a result, some fields are not in a good position to withstand high winds or a delayed harvest. I don’t have enough yield reports yet to draw conclusions, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I still expect this to be an average corn crop overall, with some farms performing better than expected and others falling short. The biggest difference makers this year were soil quality and rainfall.

The few soybean yield reports I’ve heard so far have been good, although not necessarily better than the individual farm’s long-term average. I am hopeful the mid- and late-maturity soybeans will perform better, if they were able to take more advantage of the late-season rainfall. At least 20% of the soybean crop could be ready to harvest as soon as we get multiple consecutive days of sunny, dry weather. Overall, I think we have a good soybean crop, and it could end up being a bit above average on some farms.