The growing season has been far from perfect for the eastern Corn Belt, but a northeast pocket of the Corn Belt just might be the garden spot for corn this year.
Portions of Indiana and Illinois have been dry for the last half of July, but unexpected rains fell across some of the area earlier this week. Overall, USDA’s latest Crop Progress report showed 61% of the U.S. corn crop is rated “good to excellent.” Indiana and Ohio’s corn crop is rated below the national average, while USDA shows Michigan is in slightly better condition across the state.
However, Bill Bauer, of B&M Crop Consulting, says there are pockets in each of those states in even better condition.
“Crop conditions in southern Michigan, northern Indiana and northwest Ohio are really good this year,” he says. “From what I’m hearing, I would say we’re probably in the garden spot.”
Bill and his wife, Missy Bauer, work with farmers across all three states with their home office located in Coldwater, Mich. Bauer says the area did see a late start to planting, but that didn’t damage crop stands.
“We planted a little bit later in May, but we have picket-fence stands. Probably the best stands we’ve had for the last five years,” he says.
#Plant22 plot season went FAST! Thank you to all our farmers that help us make these plots happen. We appreciate your patience & willingness to learn beside us. Since planting we have been in the process of collecting data & catching up.
— Bill Bauer (@BMcrop) June 30, 2022
Check out a few pictures from planting pic.twitter.com/garlCCwgSn
He admits the growing season hasn’t been perfect. After the late start and strong stands, the area turned a tad dry at the end of June and into the Fourth of July holiday, and the spell did spark some concerns about what it would do to the crop potential.
“But right after that, when we thought we were going to start sliding backward, we ended up getting rain. And ever since then, in July, we’ve had anywhere from three to seven inches of rain in that region, which for that time of year, and for pollination, we’re probably setting on the potential or our best crop that we’ve seen at this point.”
Rains drenched the area just in time, and now Bauer says the potential for the crop in his pocket of the Corn Belt is extremely strong.
“Growers are really happy,” he says. “They’re not happy with what the markets are doing right now, but they’re really happy for our potential. I would say corn is probably the best it’s ever been in that area.”
Read more stories and coverage on U.S. crop conditions.
Bauer says the sentiment in the area he covers doesn’t necessarily reflect farmers across the entire state, especially in Indiana and Ohio.
“There are some areas a little bit further south into central Indiana and central Ohio that haven’t had the rains, and they have a good crop with good potential, but they need to continue to keep getting rains the next few weeks to finish things off,” he adds.
Soybean Crop Condition Concerns
What about soybeans? It’s too early to get a good gauge on yield, but growers aren’t as excited about soybean crop conditions as they are corn.
“The beans don’t look as good as they have in the past,” Bauer adds. “The stands are there. And if we get rains in August, I think we have a high potential for above-average beans as well. We’re feeling good, we just need to finish this crop off and get some timely rains for the beans in August.”
Matt Bennett of AgMarket.net appeared on U.S. Farm Report last week and echoed a similar summary of the 2022 soybean crop. As he talks to clients across the country, he says the general theme is the corn crop is in better shape than the soybean crop this year.
“The first 10 days of August are predicted to be brutal, with 100 to 110-plus degree temperatures over the next couple of weeks,” Bennett adds. “That really calls into question whether we can even hit a 50 bushel [per acre] crop on a national basis, let alone 51.5 [bushels per acre].”
