How late is late?

When I was in High School, someone asked my dad, " When do you plant corn"  I was getting ready to jump in and say we like to start in early April.  My Dad's wise but simple response was " when the soil is ready."  Of course he was right then, and  that is still correct today.  We are hearing about lots of farmers stressing over planting dates, but in my opinion, we are still in a position to have a good to excellent crop year.  I heard many top corn producers say that their best corn was not their earliest. 

Early soybean planting has been an emphasis of many people in the past few years.  The thought being that increased yields of very early planted soybeans may offset the risk of freezing.  I have seen some compelling research data that favors early planting, but I have also been told by some reliable sources that the best soybean yields in my part of South Central Illinois come when soybeans are planted between May 25 and June 7. 

Another thing to consider is Crop Insurance Planting Dates for Corn and Soybeans.  The crop insurance people are not in business to lose money and they have more data than anyone to support their dates.  Corn date in my area is June 5 and Soybean date is June 20.  We have all seen good to excellent yields in soybeans that are planted in late June especially first crop beans. 

And what is the cost of compaction created by getting on fields when they are too wet?  A quick google search today gave me information from all across the Midwest.  Universities say that yield losses related to compaction is 10 to 30%.  One of the problems with compaction is that it can last for several years. So in the end, my father's advise from 50 years ago is still relevant.  Plant when soil moisture conditions are right. 

If you still cannot come to terms with the fact that you may end up planting corn in June, maybe you should see a clergyman or mental health professional to help you deal with the stress.  Patience is certainly a virtue when you can't take care of business like you normally do.     

Iowa Road Trip

We spent the weekend with our Iowa Family this weekend.  Corn planting seemed to be well underway on the Illinois portion of the trip.  The Missouri leg is mostly a view of Mississippi River Bottomlands.  There was a lot planted in Missouri too. Traveled from the Missouri Border to Pella.  Once we got into Iowa, there was not a lot planted. There we showers over night.  Topsoil looked amp in some place.  Other places only got sprinkles.  

Mid June Field Work

Wheat is being harvested, straw baling follows and then double crop soybeans.  Most corn fields were rolling in the heat and low humidity today.  The corn looked better when the sun went down.

Wheat Harvest

Straw baled

Sowing beans

Corn needs rain

Short Planting Window

It looks like we will have a short planting window so there was a flurry of field activity today.  Planting sidedressing, and fertilizing all were activities I saw.  The bottom picture is a nice looking field of soybeans south of Raymond.

Butterweed Doing Well

Looking North toward Butler T, yellow is butterweed and brown is some sort of dock.  Most corn is planted, but some fields waiting for soybeans area mess.  Still not much field work going today.

More Corn Planting News

i went to Pike County today and there are still a lot of planters in the field.  I even saw one guy still applying Anhydrous.  The later the better really.  THere was also a lot f tillage equipment.

Champaign Road Trip

I had a meeting in Champaign on Saturday.  I took the backroads in Coles and Douglas Counties to get some pictures and see what is going on in the countryside.  I spotted several people applying Anhydrous Ammonia and one Amish farmer was disking with an 8 horse hitch.  The crib below is in Douglas County.  

Corn Crop Progresing

We have been sampling emerged corn this week.  The crop is looking good although in low areas, stands are not great.  i suspect they were planted too wet.  There will be some replanting if weather allows.  It seems soybeans are about 50% planted.  Some are starting to emerge and looking good. We are at the ttime of year whencrops and markets are weather driven.  

The News from West Alton

We have been working Daily in the West Alton Area.  Land is located on the finger that has the Mississippi River on one side and the Missouri River on the other side.  The bottomland soils are highly variable.  Most of the corn to be planted will be done by the end of the week. There is still land untilled that will be planted to soybeans.  Some of the earliest corn planted April 2 was replanted yesterday.  Other corn is just emerging.  What we have samp;ed is looking good.

First Trip to West Alton

We made our first trip West Alton today. There is lot of corn planted there and the soil is in decent condition.  As always, there is a lot of farming around wet holes.  We had frost last night.

There was a lot of field actvity of every kind you can think of.

Macoupin County Today

I took the backroads to my Macoupin County Client today. There was more corn to harvest than expected.  I saw five combines in the field.  On a more exciting note I spotted and eagle's nest along Macoupin Creek with a Bald Eagle nearby.  I tried for a picture, but my phone camera failed me. 

Freeburg

I worked in Freeburg area today. I did not see any crops not harvested in that area.  We sampled some wheat that was no-tilled. It is not very far along, but looked like it could survive the winter. Some tillage work is still underway, but there is not a lot of fall tillage done. 

Comments Illinois Weather and Crop Report

Illinois Weather and Crop report shows 43% of corn harvested and 37% of soybeans harvested.  In our area, WSW, 54% of corn harvested and 34% of soybeans harvest.  We were in Christian, Fayette, and Montgomery County today.  The 54% and 34% seem to fit. There were lots of combines in the field today and they started early.  We had very little dew today.  At this point people are switching to soybeans.  We did see one wheat field that was emerged, but most who want to plant wheat will be trying to get that done this week along with  lots of harvesting. 

Field Work Done today

We worked in the field today in the Medora area.  We sampled over 200 acres already planted.  The customer has more corn planted, but we were not able to get there today.  Some of the ground was worked and ready to plant.  This represents maybe 1% planted in our area.

Worked in West Alton Area Today

I worked on smoe new land in the West Alton - Portage Des Sioux area today.  Most of the corn is harvested in that area except for a few who do not want drying costs.  Soybean harvest is maybe 25% done.  There are still a lot of soybeans holding on to leaves and some are green.  Harvest is much further along than it was between Hillsboro and Alton. 

Harvest Survey Today

I made a 150 mile circuit through Greene, Macoupin, and Montgomery counties today to look deliver a Variable Rate Prescription.  I also drove a bit to see where customers are on harvest.  The only corn I saw harvested was one field of silage.  I know there are a few others started, but I would have to say less than 1% harvested if I was reporting.  I saw a good bit of mature corn with ears dropped, but it looks like producers are waiting for dry down before trying to harvest. 

Montgomery County annual yield survey results were published in the Journal-News.  This survey is usually pretty accurate  on a county wide basis.  I also ran across Emerson Nafziger's summary of the corn growing season in my Prairie Farmer update.  It is worth a read too.

Early Yield Reports

We have been hearing lots of optimistic yield reports early on.  People are reporting 200 bushels per acre and higher.  I have lots of questions about those reports, but it is not surprising that early corn is doing well.  That is, if it is on areas with good drainage.  Early corn had the advantage of good moisture during pollination.  We did have lots of drowned spots in that early corn.  Are people reporting whole field averages or just what they harvested?  I expect yields will not be so good in June planted corn and we had plenty of that.

I had this report from the river bottoms in Monroe County today.  "Started to shell today. Corn is 12% moisture(first load).  The field by the house is making 100bu/acre. I have about 18 acres done.  It is kind of what I expected as the sand spots have undeveloped kernels at the tips due to lack of August moisture and the low spots got too wet this spring and have very small ears.  The only good thing is that it is going straight to the elevator for 5.30/bushel."

I am surprised that only 6% of corn was reported mature this week.  I suspect reporters are looking for no or few green leaves.  The indicator of maturity is the black layer on the kernels.  I wrote this blog a few years ago to illustrate.  Kelly Robertson shared this link from Purdue about corn stress and black layering.  Another sure sign that the corn is mature is if the ears have dropped.  When ears drop they cut off the flow of nutrients and moisture into the kernels.  This will in turn trigger black layering if it has not already occurred. 

30 Day Precipitation

Below is precipitation for the last 30 days from NWS web site.  Click on the photo to see a larger version.  It is centered in Illinois.  The blue area is around a half inch.  It is ironic that the part of Iowa that was too wet to plant is now extremely dry.  While there is some good corn out there, this dry weather is going to take the top out of many yields.  Soybeans will wait for moisture, but they need some to fill too, and soon.  Cool weather has kept crops looking good, but the heat in the forecast this week will take its toll.

Last 30 days Precipitation

My Comments on Ilinois Weather and Crop Report

It looks like Ag Statistic Service is reporting about 70% of Illinois Corn is good to excellent.  I think that is a fair guess at least in our area.  Stands are more uneven than we would like, but generally good except in wet spots.  The reason I would report 30% fair to poor is that is about the amount that was planted after June1.  It will need to be mature before I would be happy about it.  They show 8% silked.  That is consistent with what I have seen.  In 2 weeks that number will be around 75%. 

They show soybeans as 99% planted.  That seems a little high, but we are certainly wrapping up first crop beans.  My clients yesterday and today are still patching in wet areas.  We have soybeans anywhere from knee high to just planted in our area.

They show we area little bit below average on growing degree days, but the recent heat is catching us up fast.

Corn Setting Ears

Farmers in St. Charles County Missouri seem to be collective believers in early planting of corn.  I would estimate that 25 to 35 % of the corn in the river bottoms there is setting, ears, silking, tasseling.  The smell of corn pollen is in the air.  Moisture is good, so it seems to be a favorable time for that to happen.  There are also some soybeans that are knee high.  Luckily none of those are fields that I have left to sample.