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

Existing and potential stalk and root lodging, disease pressure and moisture content can affect the order in which fields are harvested.  Develop a harvest schedule that can help minimize lodging and harvest loss.

Two methods to determine stalk integrity are the pinch test and the push test.  Conduct the pinch test by squeezing the second or third internodes above the ground.  If it collapses, the stalk quality is quality is compromised.

The push test is performed by pushing a corn stalk to approximately a 45-degree angle.  If it breaks, stalk quality has been reduced.  Conduct either test on 10 plants in a row, at several locations in the field. If more than 10% of the stalks tested show poor stalk quality, or lodge at the root, the field should be slated for early harvest.

North Central Iowa

Kevin Meyer reports the corn continues to dry down in his north central Iowa territory.  Primarily seed corn harvest and silage chopping are in full harvest mode.  While it’s too early to establish yield trends, spotty reports of moisture well below 30% are common. Soybeans continue to mature with an anxious eye on what effects SDS will have on yields. As combines and harvest equipment begin to move, remember safety and have a great harvest.

Below is a video of Mark Grundmeier, soybean product manager at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, providing tips on how to avoid future SDS outbreaks. 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kvxo3D3SQ0[/youtube]

Northwest Iowa

Crops are maturing at a very rapid rate, and Tom Larson says there is talk of corn harvest starting next week.  Some farmers have expressed concern that the high daytime and nighttime temperature we’ve experienced recently might adversely affect corn yields and test weight.  Keep in mind that grain fill is a 60-day process, but we’ve only experienced 4 or 5 abnormally warm nights during this time.  As a result, test weight issues due to this will most likely be minimal.  Tom is seeing some ear worm feeding, mainly on the tip.  Remember:  3 damaged kernels equals 1 bushel lost.   To help reduce and even eliminate this late-season problem in the future, plant Latham® products with Genuity SmartStack, Genuity VT3 Pro and the new Viptera event.  Soybeans look great throughout Tom’s area.  The Genuity RoundUp Ready 2 Yield Soybean products are poised to be the undisputed yield leaders this year.  All of Latham’s new RR2 events in both research and field trials have really set the pods this season and the plant health on our products look great!

South Central Iowa

Travis Slusher is seeing some of the earlier maturity beans beginning to turn in south central Iowa.  Corn is progressing rapidly and he wouldn’t be surprised to see machines shelling corn before bean harvest gets started in earnest.  Stalk rot is still concerning in his area with the growing conditions he has seen this year, so if the corn is ready to come out early they should take advantage of the situation rather than fighting stalk issues later in the season.  The L3268R2 and L2735R2 Vistive varieties are still showing great plant health and outstanding pod and bean counts.

East Central Iowa

In east central Iowa, Brad Beatty says farmers are busy getting ready for harvest.  Many farmers are chopping corn for silage.  Corn is drying down fast with grain moisture testing from 26 to 32%.  Brad did a plot moisture test and LH 5228 VT3 is at 25% moisture.  These moisture levels are hard to believe for this time of year.  Soybeans are starting to turn in some fields, and some beans will be ready to harvest in about three weeks.  One grower said he will welcome an early harvest because he hasn’t been able to do any fall tillage in many years.

South Central Iowa

Some of the earlier maturity beans beginning to turn in south central Iowa.  Corn is progressing rapidly, and Travis Slusher says he won’t be surprised if some corn gets shelled before bean harvest is in full swing.  Stalk rot is still a concern with the growing conditions, so if the corn is ready to come out early, farmers can take advantage of the situation rather than fighting stalk issues later in the season.  Latham’s L3268R2 and the L2735R2V, with Roundup Ready 2 Yield and Vistive,® are showing great plant health, as well as outstanding pod and bean counts.

South Dakota

Bill Eichacker says 50% of the third cutting of alfalfa has been harvested in South Dakota and winter wheat is starting to go into the ground.  Corn is still maturing quickly with 90% of the corn at the R4 stage and over half at the R5 stage.  Both corn and soybeans are starting the R6 stage.  Silage cutters will be in full force the week of Labor Day if the ground dries out.  Early in the week parts of his region received over 4.5 inches of precipitation.  Lots of farmers are getting their harvest equipment out and a lot of new augers are going down the roads.

Central Iowa

In two to three weeks, the combines will start on beans and corn in north central Iowa.  Bart Peterson reports that a 98-day hybrid was hand-shelled August 24, just eight miles north of Fort Dodge, at 23% moisture.  Corn and beans will be a little later in West Central Iowa.  Near Odebolt, Ida Grove, and Arthur, Iowa, farmers will see one some the best bean yields they’ve had in a long time.  Bart has seen four beans in a pod on quite a few varieties of Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans.

Wisconsin

Steve Bailie reports beans are starting to turn in Wisconsin. Some corn has tested 29% moisture content. Corn silage harvest has wrapped up, and if the temperature stays up, corn growers will be harvesting in two or three weeks.

A Wallaces Farmer article posted today highlighted that corn and soybeans throughout Iowa have progressed rapidly toward maturity this past week.

The weekly weather and crop conditions survey released August 30 by the Iowa office USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service shows 8% of Iowa’s corn crop has already reached maturity. Seventy-seven percent of the crop has started to dent, and 94% has entered or reached dough stage. Corn condition has improved slightly with 69% of the state’s crop now rating “good to excellent.” Click here for the full report.

Soybeans as of August 30 have begun to drop their leaves in some fields, the article stated. Pods have now been set on virtually all of the state’s soybean acres, and 14% of Iowa’s soybean acres have turned color–which is ahead of last year’s 4% and the 5-year average of 13% at the end of August.

Click here for the full article.