Pro Farmer Crop Consultant Dr. Michael Cordonnier has lowered his corn and soybean yield projections from last week, saying he continues to have a negative bias toward the crops. He lowered his corn yield estimate by 0.5 bu. per acre to 150 bu. per acre for a crop of 12.6 billion bushels. He lowered his soybean yield estimate by 0.5 bu. per acre to 41.0 bu. per acre for a crop of 3.0 billion bushels.
“The disappointing weekend rainfall came at a critical time for the corn crop that is now filling grain. Continued dryness will accelerate the maturation process resulting in poorly filled grain,” says Dr. Cordonnier, who adds there is a “strong possibility” of even further yield declines in the near future.
Regarding the soybean crop, Dr. Cordonnier says in the drier areas of the Corn Belt, the soybean crop is running out of time. “A drier-than-normal end to the growing season results in pods at the top of the plant that never fill out and seeds that are smaller than normal,” he says. “One more dry week and the soybean crop will be pushed even closer to maturity with diminishing chances for any meaningful recuperation.”
