From the Rows | Aug. 16, 2021 — Mark Bernard (East)
Day one on the Pro Farmer Crop Tour had us on a split route, deadheading to the IN border and crossing near Decatur (IN), sampling the counties of Adams, Jay, Delaware and Madison. Due to COVID restrictions I was paired with driver and newcomer Dan Sturgill from Piqua OH. Dan is a farmer and works for Procter and Gamble. Busy man. He’s also an excellent resource as he proved at tonight’s taping when asked to give his thought on the OH corn and soybean crops.
On the corn side we sampled a high of 240 bu./acre in Jay Co. with a low in Delaware Co. of 128 bu./acre. The low yield came from areas where the ground was more variable and there were likely options to feed it. There were also some self-inflicted wounds in the form of N deficiency and planter issues there. The average corn yield on our IN route was 188 bu./acre. Not bad considering the lack of rain as we moved closer to Indianapolis that farmers informed me about at the evening meeting.
Some mention of the lack of maturity about the OH corn crop was made during the nightly Q & A session. Much of it was not dented yet. Likewise with the crop we sampled in IN. One needs to remember however that we’ve been out here several times before and attempted to estimate yields on blister stage corn. This having been done at a later calendar date. As Brian Grete and others have pointed out, they seem to be protected from the early hard frosts we tend to get as one moves back to the western part of the Corn Belt.
Disease and insect pressure were very light and not impacting yield significantly. Small amounts of gray leaf spot were detected well below the ear level in the canopy. We did see one field in Amish country where rootworm pressure appeared to be present as the corn was flat in areas. Overall, the crop was standing well. Given some rainfall to finish it out and drier soil conditions at harvest, it should stand without having to cannibalize the stalk.
On the soybeans side, our 3’x3’ measurements jumped around some, with a high of 1624 pods in Adams Co. in Marion Co. and a low of 958 pods in Jay Co. The average pod count on our IN route on the day was 1204 which is slightly below the 2020 average but slightly above the 3 year IN average. There were still a few flowers on the soybeans in a couple fields and numerous small pods had recently been set. Except for the first few fields we sampled today, it will take some timely rains to maintain and fill those smaller pods. A hot dry period would almost certainly spell their demise.
Disease pressure on our soybean sample fields was extremely low. It’s very likely many of these fields had been sprayed with a fungicide. An odd frogeye lesion here and an occasional plant with early symptoms of SDS there but that was about it. Insect pressure too was almost nonexistent. Did notice an occasional soybean aphid and saw one instance where a pair of Japanese beetles were doing what Japanese beetles do this time of year.
We sample the eastern side of Illinois tomorrow on another split route. As much as we dread the time change coming out, we look forward to it equally as we cross the IL border.
