Preliminary Route Report with Brent Judisch, western Tour consultant
What counties (with state and district) have you sampled from?
Nebraska: District 6 & 9--Hamilton, York, Filmore and Saline Counties
Corn yield range: 144 to 231 bu. per acre
Corn yield average: 183 bu. per acre
Soybean pod count range in 3’x3’ square: 908 to 1776
Soybean pod count average in 3’x3’ square: 1,293
Please share a few (one to three) comments from your route:
All of our samples were irrigated today. We sampled a crop that was pretty disease free— but did see one field that had a lot of Japanese beetles, which hadn’t been sprayed. No beans were turning leaves but are probably ten days to two weeks away. Pods were mature, filling nicely and looked good. We mostly saw three-bean pods, and some two pods. I have no concerns about the soybean crop in this area finishing strong. Dryland fields have plenty of moisture—and weed pressure was minimal. We did encounter a couple fields of greensnap—if not for those two samples; our average would have likely been another 7-8 bushels higher. We haven’t seen the Southern Rust that others have seen, but one field did have Northern Corn Leaf Blight, but it wasn’t severe. We’ve been pretty lucky. I think this afternoon will see some more questionable crops, which will be south of Lincoln. Every field is denting; some are in full dent. Ears are nice and full, and ears are plump with good kernel depth. The fields that are dryland have enough moisture to finish.
Preliminary Route Report with Lane Akre, eastern Tour leader
What counties (with state and district) have you sampled from?
Indiana: Districts 1 & 2—Wabash, Marshall, Kosciusko, Fulton, Starke, Jasper, Newton Counties
Corn yield range: 63.6 to 229 bu. per acre
Corn yield average: 174.6 bu. per acre
Soybean pod count range in 3’x3’ square: 1,228.54
Soybean pod count average in 3’x3’ square: 300 to 2,643
Please share a few comments:
Our route today was pretty wet—the day started out rainy and the tone held throughout. Seems like this area has received too much moisture. The crop was really disappointing for the most part. We crossed an area of prime ground with a lot of disease pressure. Saw quite a bit of smut and Southern Rust. This corn crop seems to be limping to the finish line—Really hard to believe this crop is going to finish strong. Some of the stuff that looked more mature from the road than it actually was. Weed pressure was minimal—we did see a little more weed pressure in beans, but not too much.
Overall, the bean crop looks pretty good. We did see a field with Frog Eye Leaf Spot. There were a few beans that had blooms, but most fields were filling pods for the most part. Stand counts were lower than we’ve seen in the past few years. One field had some beetles, but insect pressure was minimal as well.
Preliminary Route Report with Chip Flory, western Tour leader
What counties (with state and district) have you sampled from?
Nebraska: Districts 6 & 9—York, Salina, Gage, Lancaster, Otoe Counties
Corn yield range: 140.7 to 242.9 bu. per acre
Corn yield average: 183.3 bu. per acre
Soybean pod count range in 3’x3’ square: 6.3 to 1,305.2
Soybean pod count average in 3’x3’ square: 1,028.53
Please share a few comments from your route:
There’s a mixture of soybean diseases that have me a little concerned about how the crop will finish. Brown stem rot is probably what we’re seeing the most. We have seen some Sudden death and Gall Midge, which are along the edge of the field and burrow into the stem and kill the plant. Bean development isn’t blowing me away—one field had a very low pod count. Obviously, the crop still has some work to do. For the most part, though, we’re looking at a good bean crop. There are issues we shouldn’t ignore but also shouldn’t make a big issue of yet.
We have seen a lot of disease in corn, Southern Rust being the most common, though Gray Leaf spot is also prevalent. The irrigated acres have tipback, due to lack of sunshine, which is tempering some yields. The dryland acres are finishing quite well—surprisingly we’re seeing some corn with 1/4 milk-line down. Maybe it’s on schedule, but it seems ahead of average. A few fertility problems are present in dryland fields—mostly because they’ve been fertilizing for a lesser crop. The late corn has some corn earworm, damage that’s further along. If there’s continued moisture, there is some concern for ear rot. Parts of the Gage and Saline counties had lodged corn due to wind damage, which could have some yield implications. Plant depth problems and compaction were evident in some fields, and it was apparent which producers had addressed the issue and those that had not.
Preliminary Route Report with Kyle Wendland, eastern Tour consultant
What counties (with state and district) have you sampled from?
Indiana Districts 4 & 5 Hamilton, Boone, Hendricks, Putnam, Vermillion Counties
Corn yield range: 107 to 227 bu. per acre
Corn yield average: 165.5 bu. per acre
Soybean pod count range in 3’x3’ square: 864 to 1730
Soybean pod count average in 3’x3’ square: 1250
Please share a few comments from your route:
We’ve been seeing some really good beans as far as plant health. When we got into Illinois, just north of Kansas, IL we saw some lodging issues. We ran across a strange disease—have never seen anything like it. The field smelled like it was rotting and had brown stems visible. Right now, we’re In Moultrie County, east of Arther, Illinois—over the last 20 or so miles, the crop has shown drought stress visibly from the road. The heat is definitely taking its toll on part of this crop.
We saw a couple of really diseased corn fields, which had Northern Field Leaf Blight and other southern rust, which are pushing the plant to maturity. Weed pressure was mostly minimal but did have a corn field that was ridden with foxtail.