Iowa farmer Ben Riensche believes the crops around him are proof that farmers have become increasingly disciplined about stretching every input dollar. He says this year’s corn and soybean fields generally look good, but they were planted with fewer “groceries” than normal.
“I think we’re seeing the difference between what people admit happened and what people feel that they should say when they’re asked this question,” Riensche told Host Chip Flory during a recent AgriTalk Farmer Forum. “I think there was real demand destruction on crop inputs this year.”
Even so, the USDA-NASS Crop Progress report for the week ending July 19 supports the idea that Iowa crops are in a positive position. Eighty percent of the state’s corn and 79% of the soybeans were rated good to excellent.
Across the nation, 67% of the U.S. corn crop and 66% of soybeans were in the good to excellent categories. That means the report offers a caution for many farmers: roughly one-third of the nation’s corn and soybean crops fall into the very poor, poor or fair categories, as detailed by the chart below.
Weather Has Had A Huge Impact On Illinois Crops
Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, says he is concerned about the Illinois corn and soybean crops. He believes drowned-out areas and weather-stressed pockets hidden beneath tall corn and green soybeans could significantly reduce whole-field production across the central areas of the state.
The USDA-NASS report supports those concerns. For Illinois, the report shows 40% of the corn crop and 41% of the soybean crop are currently rated in the very poor, poor or fair categories.
Rather than waiting for harvest, Ferrie encourages growers to start evaluating what they can expect to harvest.
“I’m telling guys to go out and scout and estimate their cornfields now – what you’re likely to combine so you don’t get a shock at the end of the season,” he says.
The yield estimates can also help prepare landlords and farm managers before disappointing yield maps arrive.
“If 20% of the crop is gone, or there’s a 50% yield reduction, you can do the math now to prepare landlords and farm managers,” Ferrie says. “While they’re driving by and the crop looks phenomenal, the holes they can’t see out there behind that 12-foot corn are going to ding yield. We don’t want anyone to be caught by surprise.”
Ferrie adds that he is also concerned about how Illinois soybeans are going to yield.
“Soybeans just locked up and it took them forever to turn around,” he says. “We have a ton of 15s, twins, 30-inch rows that are not going to close, which is not good from a weed perspective or the yield.”
Katie Ferrie of Crop-Tech Consulting says this year’s variability in Illinois fields makes accurate harvest data more valuable than ever.
“If you don’t normally calibrate your yield monitor, this might be the year to try and do that, so that we can capture that information,” she says.
She says calibrated yield maps, combined with aerial imagery and field scouting, will help explain any disappointing field averages and improve future management decisions.
Farmers Might Be Delaying Fungicide Applications
While Riensche is feeling good about how crops currently look in his area, he currently is keeping an eye on disease pressure. Other area farmers seem to be doing the same, given the lack of applications.
“Right now, I should be seeing corn fungicide going on in earnest, but I’ve only heard one plane this morning instead of 15,” he said earlier this week.
Riensche still plans to spray a fungicide on every acre, but he’s changed both product selection and timing to improve return on investment.
“We’ll start applications on Monday,” he says. “We will cover every acre, but we’re not using the most expensive products. We’re going with post-patent products, which are about half the usual bill.”
Rather than spraying early, he’s waiting until disease pressure begins to build – a decision other growers might have made as well.
“This is just my secret sauce: I think we’ve lost more yield from blights at the end of the season than anything, and that fungicide is only good for a few weeks,” he says. “The plants are very healthy. There’s very little stress right now, so we’re going to start on Monday, and that’ll be soon enough for us.”
Even with lower input costs, Riensche remains optimistic.
“I see no reason we won’t be at APH or above,” he says.
Kansas farmer Ken McCauley has a similar outlook on this season.
“The garden spot here is alive and well,” McCauley says of northeast Kansas. “A lot of corn is denting, and no disease has been spotted around here yet.”
Before planting, he trimmed nitrogen rates to save some input dollars.
“We backed off of N a bit, pulled it back 10 pounds [an acre], and I think we had room to do that,” he says.
If rainfall cooperates through grain fill, he expects excellent yields.
“If we get that, we’re going to be right there at the top end of what we can produce,” McCauley says. “The corn here looks that good.”
You can hear more of Riensche and McCauley’s crop reports on AgriTalk with Host Chip Flory at the link below:
