October 30, 2019 Crop Reports

Southeast North Dakota

Gary Geske

Much cooler temps this week is allowing the flex head to slide over the ice. so the combine head is not scooping up water anymore. Many soybean acres were harvested this week, so corn harvest will soon begin.

Northeast South Dakota

James Keltgen

Cooler weather this past week has brought soil temperatures below freezing. The ground has firmed up, allowing farmers to worry less about getting stuck. Soybean harvest has progressed. Earlier soybean moistures were ranging between 16 and 17 percent. Now moisture is down around 13 percent. Yields are still variable as excess moisture was the theme all summer long.

Some corn has been combined. Moistures are still 20 to 28 percent, depending on maturity and planting date.

Doug Abeln Seed Co. harvested a soybean plot. Yields ranged from 55 to 65 bushels.

Southeast South Dakota

Ramie Coughlin

Harvest is officially here. With a much needed dry stretch, many farmers were able to finally harvest. Soybeans have been coming out at much higher yields than anticipated. I’m hearing many yield reports around 40 to 55 bushels per acre, but even 70-bushel beans have been reported. Good harvest weather is forecast for the next week, so it’s full speed ahead here in South Dakota.

Northern Minnesota

Ken Highness

Harvest is like nothing we’ve ever seen before in this region. Area farmers are fighting mud at every turn. Farm equipment has been stuck right up to the axle. We’re harvesting through standing water and combine headers are filling with mud. The picture taken from the cab provides s bird’s eye view of what 90% of the fields look like in my region. The second picture is creativity at it best. This grower near Grand Forks, ND is mounting tractor lug tires on the drive axle of his semi. This is working very well because the lugs don’t hold mud like conventional tires plus they very well on the highway.

Southern Minnesota

Justin Prokosch

Last week started slow as we experienced ample amounts of rain. After a couple days of letting things dry off, farmers were able to back in the fields. Most soybeans have been taken out, and corn has been going at a good clip. We took out our last Latham® soybean plot for this region late the night, so I was able to capture a nice sunset.

Northern Wisconsin 

Joe Salter

These photos were taken as we harvested a Latham® SuperStrip plot in southern Wisconsin.  We are still recovering from all the rain that has fallen the past few weeks. Many farmers were able to run this week. Soybean harvest has been very slow, but we’re finally making progress. Grain corn is still very wet, so the corn driers will be running non-stop this season.

North Central Iowa

Cory Greiman

The weather once again has caused a delay in the harvest progress. Snow fall totals this week ranged from little to none in the western two-thirds of my territory to two inches in the eastern third of my territory. Hopefully, this snow will melt quickly. Many farmers are hoping to get in the field again today.

Northeast Iowa

Craig Haaland

West North Central Iowa

Bart Peterson

Much cooler temps this week is allowing the flex head to slide over the ice. so the combine head is not scooping up water anymore. Many soybean acres were harvested this week, so corn harvest will soon begin.

Eastern Iowa 

Jerry Broders

Harvest had been fast and furious. Then Monday evening we picked up three to four inches of snow, bringing harvest to a halt. The forecast calls for another four to eight inches of snow tonight into Thursday, so this could keep us out of the field until next week.

Western Iowa

Larry Krapfl

Area farmers are working extremely late hours this fall to get the 2019 crop harvested.

East Central Iowa

Aaron Steenhoek

Harvest made significant progress last week on both corn and soybeans. Some growers were able to wrap up soybean harvest before the snow fell on Monday night. Pictured here is LH 5245 VT2 PRO RIB, dried down and ready to harvest! Yields have been extremely variable, but this hybrid has been a consistent top-yielding hybrid in Latham’s lineup. It has already won seven different F.I.R.S.T. trials this year!

West Central Iowa

Eric Croghan

Even though weak shanks are a characteristic of some corn hybrids, many environmental factors can lead to ears dropping. Heat, drought, nutrient deficiencies, disease and insects all can cause ears to drop. That’s why it’s a good idea to walk corn fields and make notes throughout the growing season. For example, corn borers can cause ears to drop off conventional hybrids. Perhaps you really need a corn borer-resistant hybrid. Work with your local Latham® rep to choose hybrids with good ear retention and tolerance to Diplodia ear and stalk rot.