This week marks National Farm Safety week, and with harvest well underway, we wanted to remind everyone to stay safe this fall. Farming ranks behind mining as the second-highest industry incurring disabling and fatal accidents annually, and no one knows better than a farmer just how dangerous the job can be. The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) provides educational brochures offering safety tips for everything from how to keep a child safe on the farm, to safe use of harvesting equipment. Click the link below for their full list of safety brochures. http://www.necasag.org/safety_brochures.php

In addition to reminding farmers to stay safe, we encourage those driving to allow extra space and time for slow moving farm equipment on the roadways. We’d also like to remind motorists to be extra careful when passing farm equipment on roadways and bridges.

Thank you, farmers, for all that you do every day! Today’s American farmer feeds 155 people worldwide, and Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is proud to help American farmers feed and fuel the world.  We wish  everyone a safe and plentiful harvest!

Northeast Iowa

Corn harvest is just getting underway in Nick Benson’s territory.  There have been good drying conditions, and corn is coming out of the field with 17 to 23 percent moisture.  Yields are great.  One of his customers, who planted Latham® Hi LH 5426 VT3 PRO, saw yields of 240 to 280 b/A on a field that usually goes 200 to 220 b/A.  Yields are extremely variable this year and, Nick says, they appear to be completely rain dependent. In areas that received too much water during the growing season, yield dropped 20%, but yields are 10 to 20% higher in areas that received just the right amount of rain. Some areas experienced trouble with stalk rot due to this excess moisture. Below is a short video where Nick shares how to test for stalk rot.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z29if4sSx_E[/youtube]

Soybean yields are phenomenal this year, Nick said, and it helps that SDS hasn’t been much of a problem here.  Yesterday Nick walked a field of Latham® soybeans and, on the first plant that he randomly pulled, he counted 165 pods.  Many of his customers are seeing high 60s and 70s as field averages.  One customer called late last night when his yield monitor hit 80 b/A, and the whole field average was 68 b/A.   

Wisconsin

Many combines started hitting harvest hard this week in Wisconsin, says Steve Bailie. Growers are seeing 200-bushel yields in corn and 55-bushel averages in beans.  One of Steve’s customers was extremely pleased that Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids LH 5228 VT3 averaged 180 b/A on a marginal ground. Latham® products were planted for the first time on several Wisconsin farms, so many customers are looking forward to seeing what yields will come their way.  Steve has been working closely with his customers to check stalks and inform them which fields they should start combining. He says this service seems to be of great value to them. 

Central Iowa

Kevin Meyer says corn harvest has picked up throughout the region over the past seven days.  Farmers starting with corn had great weather for an early harvest with moistures in the teens and yields surprisingly a little better than last year. There are a few stalk quality issues in the area, but farmers are getting in early to minimize crop loss. Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids LH 5033 3000GT and LH 5228 VT3 are performing strong in the early 100-day maturities. Soybean harvest progressed the latter part of the week, and again, yields are somewhat surprising.  With widespread SDS in the area, yields of high 50s to low 60s b/A are being reported. Early Group 2 maturities are currently being harvested, with Latham® Hi‑Tech Soybeans L2085R and L2182R2 leading the pack.

East Central Iowa

Harvest is underway East Central Iowa with corn yields ranging from 120 to 190 bushels per acre.  Much of the corn has poor stalk quality and must be harvested in a timely fashion.  Brad Beatty reports that Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids LH 5777 SS was checked on Friday with a yield of 177 b/A, 18.5% moisture and a 58.5 pound test weight in a corn-on-corn situation. Very few soybeans have been harvested, and most beans in this area are about a week away from harvest. 

South Central Iowa

Travis Slusher’s farm received more than three inches of rain from Saturday through Tuesday night.  Areas south of him have received well over five inches.  Needless to say, harvest has come to a standstill here.  What corn was harvested last week had Latham® HI-Tech Hybrids LH5777 SS yielding well at 18% moisture with LH5896 VT3 and LH6068 VT3 showing great yields and moisture in the low 20s for the growing conditions that they had to endure this season.  Soybean harvest has been slow and spotty as the majority of the beans are not ready to cut.  Yields have been from the mid-40 bushel range in areas with heavy SDS pressure to mid 60s in areas that didn’t experience heavy SDS pressure.  Travis wishes everyone a safe and productive harvest season.  Be safe out there!

Northwest and North Central Iowa

Harvest is slowly underway in the northernmost part of the state.   Tom Larson says it’s too early to make concrete statements on yields, but it appears that soybeans are averaging 50 to 60 bushels per acre in the better fields and corn is making 180 to 200 bushels per acre.  With all of the precipitation so far this week and more in the forecast, Tom isn’t expecting much harvest activity this week.

South Dakota

Corn in South Dakota is estimated at 45% mature as compared to 10% last year.  The soybean crop is also ahead of last year with 75% of the leaves dropped. Unfortunately, rainfall is slowing down harvest.  Another two inches of rain is expected during the next two days. A few acres of high-moisture corn have been harvested.  Bill has also heard reports of corn moisture in the teens, so these fields are ready for harvest as soon as the weather cooperates. 

Yield variability within the field is a big challenge due to drowned out spots, nitrogen loss and other problems from excessive rain during the 2010 growing season.  Farmers should notify their crop insurance agents of low yields within 72 hours of initial discovery, according to a recent article in Wallaces Farmer.

“Keep a ledger sheet right there with you in the field,” says Steve Johnson, Iowa State University Extension farm management specialist.  “Write down what bushels are coming from which field and which truck or wagon.  If you take the corn or beans to town, make sure you have a name on a scale ticket. That’s important should you be audited for Actual Production History purposes.”
 
Also, get your grain bins measured. Johnson says you shouldn’t put new crop on top of old crop grain in case you have a claim.

For the complete article, click here: http://farmprogress.com/story.aspx/nl13_3nl/report/low/yields/to/insurance/agent/promptly/at/harvest/9/42117

Northeast Iowa

Harvest has started in Nick Benson’s territory.  Corn continues to dry down very nicely.  But by the end of the week, he envisions that 25% of growers will have some corn in the bin.  Beans are starting to drop leaves.  Despite some aborted pod fill due to a dry stretch in August, Nick is still expecting high soybean yields throughout northeast Iowa.

Stalk rot is still a concern and Nick recommends that growers check their fields and make any fields showing signs of stalk rot a priority to harvest.

What is Stalk Rot?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_c_H2u8yK4[/youtube]

New hybrid lines that should not have any issues with stalk strength include Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids LH 5376 VT3, LH 5426 VT3 PRO and LH 5645 3000GT, which from what Nick has seen, has stalks like fence posts.

Silage harvest is about 90% complete, and we’ve had some great silage results from LH 5494 3000GT.  As one of Nick’s customers said, “It’s impressive when the ears are 2 feet above your head and you can still bend the tassel to touch the ground without having the stalk lodge.”

Click on image for full-size picture.

It’s shaping up to be a great harvest.  Be safe out there and enjoy the fall!

Central Iowa

Corn harvest is underway in central Iowa. Kevin Meyer says producers have taken advantage of some great weather to try out the combines and have been pleasantly surprised to find moisture in the lower 20% and even some teens. Preliminary yields show yields a little better than a year ago, although stalk quality remains a concern on some hybrids in the area. A band of hail Labor Day night in southwest Butler County left some damage on soybean acres; 10-20% loss of soybeans being knocked out of the pods is common in this area.

Wisconsin

Steve Bailie reports that a few Wisconsin growers have started harvesting corn. On Sunday, Sept. 13, a field of LH 5228 VT3 has been harvested and ran 208 dry bushels. Many growers are going to start harvest this week for high-moisture grain. Stalk rot has started to become a concern, so it’s important to walk the fields and see what fields need to be harvested first this fall. Beans are really dropping leaves.  Latham® Hi‑Tech Soybeans L2085R looks good; one Latham dealer on Tuesday harvested 82 bushels per acre with 13% moisture.

Northwest Iowa

Early harvest reports indicate what was suspected: corn yields are a little less than previously expected and soybean yields are a little higher than expected.  Tom Larson reports soybeans that had reached maturity were still pretty tough to combine due to the healthy stems, but the forecasted rain should help even out the fields once it dries up.  Latham’s RoundUp® Ready 2 Yield^TM Soybeans still look like the bean to beat.  Their late season plant health and yield ability put them at the top of the list, and with a very attractive price, they should be part of every farmer’s portfolio for 2011.  Corn will have some surprises, as well.  Tom has seen some fantastic hybrids with VT3 and Genuity® SmartStax^TM plus some customers are equally excited with their LibertyLink hybrids.

East Central Iowa

Harvest is under way in East Central Iowa.  Brad Beatty advises customers to start combining corn even though moistures may be around 20%. Because the general stalk quality is poor this year, heavy winds could blow over much of this year’s crop. Soybeans are a week or so away from harvest. Some growers are finishing their final cutting of hay; it’s a good time to spray pasture land to kill many hard to kill weeds. If the herbicide doesn’t kill the weeds, they will most likely be too weak to make it through the winter. There is also very little chance of off-target injury from spray drift this time of year.

South Central Iowa

Travis Slusher’s area on Monday received rainfall, ranging anywhere from ½ to just over an inch of rain.  Not much harvest activity is underway in his territory other than seed corn and some shelled field corn.  Many producers are setting up machines and taking out some early corn.  Moisture is ranging between 17% and the mid 20s.  There have been beans harvested in the northern part of South Central Iowa with yields ranging from the mid-40s to 50s, depending upon the amount of SDS.

South Dakota

Bill Eichacker says 85% of the corn is beyond the R5 stage with 25% in the R6 stage, which is considerably ahead of last year’s crop.  Silage is also ahead of last year with 60% harvested.  There will be a lot of corn taken out before the soybeans this season.  About 50% of the soybeans have leaves dropped, which is normal for this time of year.  Bill’s farm received over an inch of precipitation Tuesday night, and his area is 7 inches above normal rainfall amounts.

Northern Missouri

Rick Foster reports in Missouri harvest is still going slow. Beans are still filling and corn is being harvested at about 20% moisture.

Leaving corn in the field until its moisture levels are below 20% could actually cost you more than drying grain. Experts say that growers must weigh the risk of severe lodging and resulting yield losses when they allow corn to dry too long in the field.

The optimum harvest moisture for corn is about 23-25%.  Kernels shell easily and stalks generally stand better at this moisture level.  With a timely and efficient combining, normal harvest loss is about 1 or 2%.  Harvest losses increase by 2 to 8% above the normal level if corn dries down too much in the field.  Most harvest losses are caused by kernel shattering or corn never getting into the combine. As stalk lodging and ear dropping increases, the more corn dries down in the field.

Balance is needed between field dry down and harvest loss.  These spreadsheets show the importance of starting harvest early.

Click on the chart to view full-size image.

Source: Monsanto Agronomic Spotlight