January 2012 Archive for Crop Comments

Use this link to send us your comments (or e-mail CropComments@agweb.com) about the crops in your local area. Be sure to send us your photos and videos! Comments will be edited for brevity and clarity. (Please keep your comments crop-related.

Here's a sampling of what some folks are saying: 

• 1/27 - Allen County, Kan.: We have had a total of 25 inches of snow this winter. Should be way above 100 inches by now. What we had is all gone now and back to green grass again. Last night we had about 2 inches of rain, we might end up being thankful for that if this weather pattern stays this way into spring.
  
  

• 1/27 - Allen County, Kan.: Lots of early anhydrous application going on right now. Some of us have taken advantage of completing chisel work in some fields. The wheat is beginning to show signs of damage as it is turning yellow. Lack of moisture and too much warm temps - the crop doesn't know what to do right now. Have not had any significant moisture since November which helped to fill the ponds back. There was a steady action of ponds being dug out in the area as a major majority had gone dry due to the extensive heat last summer. Have a good one. (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)  
  
• 1/27 - Northern Kentucky: Here is a video of fall tillage from 2011 with our John Deere 8235R, Great Plains Turbo-Till, Brillion zone commander and M&W Earthmaster. The tractor is steered on John Deere SF-1 auto-trac. Video courtesy of schwenkebrothers’ YouTube channel.
  

• 1/26 - Wood County, Ohio: Finally finished harvest on Jan. 20. Corn was planted June 10 and yielded 195 bu/ac dry corn, proving once again it’s not the date you plant. It’s what the weather and rainfall is during the growing season.
   
• 1/26 - Texas: Thanks to rains, more of Texas transitioned from exceptional to extreme drought, or from severe to moderate, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. But weekly on-the-ground reports from Texas AgriLife Extension Service agents still paint a mixed picture of the general agricultural situation. In Deaf Smith County, the Panhandle, Rick Auckerman, AgriLife Extension agent, reported that producers are revisiting planting grain sorghum instead of corn. Cotton plans are mixed, but generally plantings are expected to be up this year, but a lot will depend upon whether the area gets spring rains before planting. "Where’s the rain?" asked Kevin Brendle, AgriLife Extension agent Dickens County, east of Lubbock. "We had drier, windy and warmer conditions most of the week. Cotton land is being prepared and readied for spring planting."

• 1/19 - McLeod County, Minn.: This is by far and away the craziest weather I have ever seen. Last spring was so wet we didn’t get planted until the first part of June. Torrential rains continued into the first part of August. Then the heat took over and cooked the ground for the rest of the year. After planting we were certain we would combine thirty percent corn, but we ran it straight into the bin and got done in record time with a HOT October. We ripped the ground as deep as we could, but Mother Nature won. All the soil in Southern MN is so compacted and clodded up. I don’t see any way we raise a good crop next year. We have had about three inches of snow. This time last year we had over 50" already. We have gone from one extreme to another and it is looking like a real disaster.
  
  

  I averaged 24bu beans for my farm and I don’t know anybody that really broke 30 on average. Corn for the most part was 120-140. There are no corn piles from here all the way to SW MN. Don’t really know where it all is, but there is none out there.

• 1/19 - Central Missouri: I was digging a Fallen big oak tree stump near a branch, good black soil 4.5 feet deep DUST!!! In the bottom of the hole, Trend Line Corn 2012?? Wheat is suffering with no snow cover and one day 60 the next 15 with 30mph wind. God Help Us.
  
   
• 1/19 - Texas: Winter rain accumulations varied across the state, from as much as 5 inches in some East Texas counties to 1 inch to 3 inches in Central and North Texas, according to reports from Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel.Parts of the Rolling Plains also got rain, as much as 1.5 inches, while some areas in West Central Texas got more than 1 inch, according to reports by AgriLife Extension county agents. The rest of the state remained mostly dry, receiving only light rains if any. Where there was rain, winter forages and wheat benefited, and stock tanks and ponds were replenished to varying degrees.
  

  Rains greened up winter pastures in many parts of the state, such as in this Rusk County field, and encouraged producers to apply fertilizer. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo by Robert Burns) (Have any photos of the crops on your farm? E-mail (CropComments@agweb.com) them to AgWeb and have them posted on Crop Comments! Be sure to include a caption.)

• 1/19 - O’brien County, northwest Iowa: I've had maybe 5 tenths of moisture the last 6 1/2 months. Did a little tiling this fall through a mud hole- bone dry. No subsoil moisture to go on.
  
   
• 1/19 - Western Iowa: Information from Joel DeJong, field agronomist, ISU Extension and Wayne Roush, farm superintendent, ISU Research and Demonstration Farms: Fall anhydrous applications were not hampered by too much water, instead some producers chose not to apply anhydrous because soil conditions were too dry and anhydrous was not sealing well in the soil in some fields.
  
  "Fall subsoil moisture samples taken at the Western Research and Demonstration Farm for Iowa State University showed there was no water left in the 5 foot soil profile. Crops were sustained in 2011 by the water stored in the soil, but all reserves were used. Significant recharge is needed by the time corn and soybeans are planted in 2012.  (ISU Western R & D Farm is located in Monona County, Iowa near the town of Castana.)

• 1/12 - Greene, Iowa: We’re very dry.
  
   
• 1/12 - Gray County, Kan.: Our soil moisture profile needs about 8 inches of rain. Ten inches would not be unwelcome.
• 1/12 - Livingston County, Ill.: I planted a few acres of wheat for 2012. This means I will have about a 50% corn and 50% beans with the rest of my acres. We've had good rains and the soil profile is about full.
  
   
• 1/12 - Gray County, Kan.: We’ve had 2 inches of moisture since May! Our subsoil moisture is zero!
  
   
• 1/12 - Murray County, Minn.: An excavator buried a hog pit last week. Dug a hole eighteen feet deep with dry clay in the bottom of the hole. Not much moisture for the corn roots to seek out this summer!
• 1/12 - Polk County, Minn.: The moisture levels are as low as I have ever seen them-my alfalfa fields might be gone with little or no snow cover.
  
   
• 1/12 - Redwood County, Minn.: Stopped raining here July 19. We received about 1.5 inches since and are about 8 inches behind normal. It’s dry down 6 feet. Southern half of Minnesota is in severe drought.
• 1/12 - Keota, Iowa: We have no moisture at this time.
  
   
• 1/12 - Logan County, Ark.: Here in west-central Arkansas we are wet at this time. We came out of a severe drought in 2011-- it started raining in October and has stayed wet since. We’ve had 22 to 26 inches since that time wheat is showing its effect starting to turn yellow. In low spots it is dying. We need a few sunny days to correct it. It will probably go the other way when it does.
  
   
• 1/12 - Shelby County, Ill.: Weather is unusually mild so far! Some tiles started running in late DEC! As far as crops to plant in 2012. I retired as of harvest 2011!!

• 1/11 - Clark County, Wis.: We’ve had very warm January and December. No snow and our precipitation has been very low -- less than a 1 inch. Wheat looks very poor. I don’t think it will make it. Our hay crop is also not looking good.
  
   
• 1/11 - Cayuga County, N.Y.: Grass is still green. Close to 100 inches of snow this time last winter. Normal season for us about 140 inches.
• 1/11 - East central Iowa: Trying to haul corn before snow hits. Sounds like we may actually get 1-4 inches Wednesday – Thursday. It has been extremely nice without snow (easy to get around, not hauling snow out of cattle yards, no tractor or skid loader chains). We reached 50-55 F and sunny Tuesday here, but it is supposed to cool off. Bad thing is that if the snow comes first, the ground will not freeze hard. Video courtesy of scotthinch’s YouTube channel.
  
  
   
• 1/11 - Texas: Many areas received rain, but the general consensus from weekly reports by Texas AgriLife Extension Service county agents was that more is needed to keep wheat and winter pastures going. The U.S. Drought Monitor backs up these observations. As of Jan. 3, the monitor still showed nearly 70 percent of the state as being under severe to extreme drought. However, this is an improvement over the situation at the beginning of October when 97 percent of the state was under severe to extreme drought.
  

  In some parts of the state, December and January rains meant winter pastures that were planted on time could already be grazed, but most producers were still having to feed hay. (Texas AgriLife Research photo by Dr. Monte Rouquette) (Have any photos of the crops on your farm? E-mail (CropComments@agweb.com) them to AgWeb and have them posted on Crop Comments! Be sure to include a caption.)

  
   
• 1/11 - Henry County, Ohio: Still some corn in field. Hoping cold weather arrives end of the week before the snow does. So I can finish. Very little fall tillage done this fall. Unless you call the ruts made tillage. We will need a good spring to get fields in shape for planting.

• 1/9 - Caldwell County, Mo.: What a great winter we are having. Neighbors are putting on NH3 -- not too many winters could you do this!
  
   
• 1/9 - Summit County, Ohio: There is still corn out in the fields, me included, although it is only about 15 or so acres. It has been so wet and the lack of cold has kept the remaining corn in the fields. There is not a whole lot out, but still way more than I have ever seen. I have seen very little fall tillage, if any, too. I hope to try and get the rest of the corn in this week if the damn rain holds off long enough to dry out a bit. I can't believe this season will not end.
  
   
• 1/9 - Wharton, Texas: Extremely dry here in south Texas, with zero subsoil moisture. We finally got 2" of rain in December, the first since rain since May. Might not have any dryland corn unless we can get 6"-10" of rain before planting. That is getting less likely every day, since we start planting corn around Feb. 20.
   
• 1/9 - Chickasaw County, Iowa: This is our annual movie for 2011. We’re loving the mild weather. We are a 1,400-acre row crop operation in northeast Iowa. We also produce 10,000 head of hogs annually. Follow us at www.lantzkyfarms.com.
  

• 1/6 - DeKalb County, Ala.: Wheat looks good. (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)  
  
   
• 1/6 - Logan County, Ill.: We will grow 275 acres soybeans and 73 acres corn.
  
   
• 1/6 - Nobles County, Minn.: DRY! We have not had significant moisture since JULY! We are extremely dry! Our ground is hard as cement. Everyone around here is giddy because we are not walking around in waist high snow like we usually are this time of year. But I am concerned that there is no sign of change in the weather pattern soooo, no chance of rain/snow anytime soon. We had just better hope we have a wet March/April or we are in big trouble!

• 1/5 - East central Iowa: I was loading corn out of shed. No snow yet (can you tell I'm excited). Video courtesy of scotthinch’s YouTube channel.
  
  
   
• 1/5 - Texas: A Texas AgriLife Extension Service economist advised Texas cotton producers to consider selling sooner rather than later – assuming they have a decent offer. "The market is saying not to wait for higher prices," said Dr. John Robinson, AgriLife Extension cotton economist. "I would say that if somebody has a fairly decent contract, I would be looking to sell on any rally." Most Texas cotton has been harvested, and much is sitting in warehouses waiting to be sold, Robinson said.
  

  "If you’ve got cotton now, I sure wouldn’t hold it a long period of time," said a Texas AgriLife Extension Service cotton marketing expert. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo by Whit Weems) (Have any photos of the crops on your farm? E-mail (CropComments@agweb.com) them to AgWeb and have them posted on Crop Comments! Be sure to include a caption.)

• 1/3 - Caldwell County, Mo.: We traded planters the last day of the year, got a 6-row. I was going to have to hire a neighbor to plant my corn, so with the savings from hiring work done and the tax break, it will soon pay for itself! 
  
   
• 1/3 - East central Iowa: Picture is from Dec. 2, when I was squeezing in the last load of corn. No snow yet (excellent!). Us not having snow is saving everyone a lot of money (no labor, wear and tear, fuel, hauling manure -- not snow, etc.) It is supposed to get down to 8°F Monday night and then warm up again. Hopefully the ground freezes hard enough to alleviate some compaction.
  

  -- East central Iowa (Have any photos of the crops on your farm? E-mail (CropComments@agweb.com) them to AgWeb and have them posted on Crop Comments! Be sure to include a caption.)

  
   

• 1/3 - Sparta, Mich.: Check out this harvest video from 2011. Video courtesy of agsalesman’s YouTube Channel.