Farmers in Northwest Iowa had near to record corn and soybean crops last year and early harvest results are surprisingly similar.
Matt McCarthy, who farms near Newell, was expecting a smaller crop than 2025 just based on the mid-season weather challenges the crop experienced.
“We were dry during July, and we didn’t get an abundance amount of rain in August,” he says.
An abnormally wet September followed, and McCarthy’s farm received nearly 10 inches of rain.
Corn Yields Mirror 2025 Records
Even with the weather challenges, he’s been pleasantly surprised with his early yield results, which are neck in neck with last year’s record corn crop and 5 bu. to 20 bu. per acre above his farm APH (actual production history) of 226 bu. per acre.
“I would say 225 bu. to 240 bu. catches probably the bulk of it. There’s going to be some better, but we haven’t gotten to the later maturity yet. I think as we get later, maybe it’ll get better, but we’ll find out if the corn put the weight on like we thought from the late rains,” he explains.
The late hybrids also pollinated after the heat and dryness in July and picked up September rains verses the early corn.
“We had a lot of tip back in the 109- to 114-day corn. It was a lot hotter and it was drier in July when it was pollinating and having its grain fill. Did we have less kernels than a year ago?” he asks.
Heat Offset by Lack of Disease
The biggest difference this year, according to McCarthy, has been a more consistent corn crop and the absence of disease.
“I don’t have the huge swings of the lower yields because of the rust and other issues. I didn’t get Southern rust, and we sprayed fungicide twice. I Y-dropped the nitrogen, so we split applied our nitrogen, and I think that helped as well,” he says.
Still, with the wet September some ear molds are showing up on corn. There’s also mild standability issues, and the crop is drying down quickly, making it key to get the crop harvested as soon as possible.
“It’s been a hot one with some wind. There’s some 106-day corn that’s hand-shelling at 15.5%, 15.8%. Even 113-day is 17%, 18%. It’s going to be a race to get it harvested before it gets below 15% or we’re giving up water weight.”
Quality Issues in Soybeans
The moisture was a double-edged sword for soybeans. While it brought higher yield potential, he’s seen quality issues with late-season diseases such as white mold. He’s also had discolored soybeans and some sprouting in the pod, which has been widespread in the western Corn Belt this fall.
McCarthy is selling his beans right off the combine and delivering them to the local crush plant, Platinum Crush in Alta, Iowa. The good news is he and farmers in his area have not had any loads docked or rejected by the elevator or local soy processing plant
Soybean Yields Benefit From Rain
He contends the late rains helped more than they hurt and it’s evident by his soybean yield results, which are running on par with last year’s record.
“I would say 65 to 80 to 85 if it was a longer-term cornfield and then went to a bean crop. It’s had three to five, six years of corn and then beans,” he says. “Those fields will always out produce the rotated fields.”
Profitability Up From 2025
With the strong yields, profit levels for McCarthy are also up from last year as prices for corn are slightly higher and beans are well above 2025.
“I would say on the grain side of things, yeah, there’s more optimism, and there’s a few more dollars this year than a year ago,” he says.
That’s also helping to offset the record diesel prices adding to the cost to harvest this year’s crop.
