Road trip Effingham

I made a short road trip to Effingham today to do a septic tank evaluation.  Most of the corn along the way was pollinating or past pollination, although not in some of the uneven parts of fields.  Some fields are starting to run out of nitrogen.

Soybeans looked better than corn.  We had a lot of rain earlier in the week and the soybeans were putting on a lot of top growth.  Two issues that will cut into yields at this point are weeds that were starting to show through, and poor stands.

Corn Harvest in Brazil

By Euardo Paim:

 Here in MT we are harvesting corn and the yields are very good! In an average harvest we harvest 90 bags of corn per HA, this year the yields are at 135 bags of corn per HA. In some regions we had rain breakdown, but it won't be a big problem

Crop Condition

I have read recently that we should expect the  third largest soybean crop ever this fall.  I realize a 30 mile loop through Montgomery County is not the whole midwest, but at least in this area, there is no chance for an above trend line crop.  The picture below is showing an average looking crop at best.  Soybean growth stages almost all look like they were planted as double crops.  To make matters worse, stands are very spotty as well.  Yes, some people will be patching some in, but that will not make the yields jump much. 

The corn crop is showing stress as well.  the wet yellow areas from las week are now showing as green and rolled up.  All the corn I saw looked like it could use a little shower.  I would venture the moisture is there, but shallow rooted crops are not getting through the compacted soils to get what they need for vigorous growth.  The picture below shows the gamut of corn condition.  Stands are very uneven and we know that cuts into yields.  We are still seeing yellow corn in ponded areas that will not recover.  

Also, it is now pretty easy to see the prevent plant acres.  While we know that the Mississippi and Missouri River Bottoms will not get planted in many areas, we can now see upland areas that will not get planted too.  The windows for planting were just too small.  

Friends Don’t Let Friends Work Wet.

By W Kevin Nelson - Senior Agronomist Prairie Agronomics LLC

2019 A Year We’ll Remember

Though the year isn’t even half over, 2019 will go down as a milestone year for anyone involved in agriculture. Every year is different, but some remain more memorable than others. We got off on somewhat of a wrong foot by finishing off ‘18 without getting as much work done as we would have liked. Fertilizer applications and tillage were not completed in many areas last fall, putting farmers behind before the crop year even started.

Then the rains came. When we would have liked to have been catching up on those things left uncompleted, soil conditions kept getting wetter, and time kept on ticking. Several of my colleagues and I were talking about images and posts we were seeing on social media of people working ground in less than optimum conditions, and in the second week of April, we didn’t feel there was any need to feel rushed. There was plenty of time to get the #plant19 crop in the ground. I even created a meme: Friends Don’t Let Friends Work Wet.

And still the rains came. Most of Illinois, and much of the middle part of the country continued to receive above average precipitation. My colleagues and I continued to counsel patience and stress levels of growers continued to mount. April turned to May, then May was fast fading, June was in the windshield, approaching fast. Patience was nearly gone, and growers began looking at getting something in the ground, even if soil conditions weren’t ideal.

And the rains continued. The end of May and first few days of June brought a flurry of discussion surrounding Prevented Plant options, corn hybrid maturities, drying costs, black layer, the dreaded “F” word (frost) and MFP ”Trump Money.” Patience flew out the window. Planters rolled on corn, seedsmen were asked to find earlier maturing hybrids, and any window of sunshine brought the machines to the fields.

But the rains stopped. Now it’s starting to become apparent that those decisions made earlier may not pan out the way we hoped. Seed slots not closed, crusting, mud balls turned to dry clay balls. This crop is far from in the bin. The remainder of the growing season will challenge everyone. Even far from the farm gate. I have said that the ripples on these ponds in the fields will spread wide, and will touch everyone.

So 2019 is going to go down as a milestone year. Young people today will say to their grandchildren in 2049, “I remember ‘19. That was a terrible year in farming.” Much as my grandfathers talked about 1934 (drought and heat), my father talked about 1970  Southern Corn Leaf Blight and Texas Male Sterile seedcorn) and I talk about 1988 (drought.) We all have milestones in our lives, some personal, some shared with the broader community. The challenge before us is to not let the negative milestones become millstones around our necks, but to find positive milestones to balance the negative and keep us looking forward to the future

W Kevin Nelson

Corn Harvest Continues in Brazil

 By Eduardo Paim:

Here in Mato Grosso we are beginning to harvest second harvest corn, in the state we have 15% harvested. In the northern region in the first harvests we had corn burned due to excessive rains during development. Farmers are not handling corn to make the blending of corn harvested with corn that they are harvesting good at the moment. The situation will get regularized and I do not believe that we will have problems of too much corn fire. At this moment the quality is excellent and the productivity between 130 bags per ha and 150 bags per ha. In two weeks we will have more farms starting to harvest corn and I send you message. In the south of Mato Grosso we have not started yet. 

Corn Harvest in Brazil

By Eduardo Paim:

Here in Brazil we are beginning the harvest of the second crop maize. Some states are realizing that corn will get its quality compromised due to excessive rains. In the north of the state of Mato Grosso, the producers at this beginning of the harvest have already identified maize with 30% of damage. This week some farms had difficulty harvesting because they received rains. We still do not know if this is going to be a major loss. 

Securing the Nation's Infrastructure

 I have written several times over the years about the importance of our inland navigation system to  agriculture. Much of the Midwest's agricultural products for export move on the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio River systems, which are all connected.  My friend Ken Olson and his co-author Lois Wright Morton take a look at "Securing the Nation's Infrastructure" in a new Soil and Water Conservation Society paper on the Ohio River.  They do an excellent job of discussing history so that threader can understand why the lock and dam system is necessary and then bring us up to date to the newest structures in place.  Click on the link to learn more. 

Randy Dowdy Program

Last week were invited to attend a presentation b champion corn grower Randy Dowdy.  Linco-Precision was a co-sponsor and invited us to the program.  dowdy may have made on of the best farmer presentations I have heard.  He had 4 main points.   He uses drainage to remove excess water. He uses irrigation when water is short.  He does a lot of soil testing and tissue testing in order to fine tune his fertility program.  He likes to spread his risks by spreading out his planting dates in a 3 to 4 week period. He pushes his soil fertility to the maximum.  He advocates for 1 pound of nitrogen for every bushel of corn. 

I listened and tried to figure a program that would work in Illinois.  Despite having decent annual rainfall amounts, we really do not have a good source of irrigation water except in the major river bottoms.  I am an advocate for drainage.  We can drain our fields economically.  His discussion about tissue sampling is leading me to consider offering a revised program that includes tissue sampling.

I was surprised that he is not pushing high populations although he is using narrow and twin row spacings to maximize sunlight to the plant. 

Dowdy was thought provoking and interesting,  While I am not sure how to implement his program entirely, I think we can learn some things from him.  If you get a chance to hear him speak, go for it. 

Dying Crops

Not everything looks as below, but crops look worse every time I go to St. Charles Co Mo.  Lots of land to the south if feeling dry weather effects.  Rain next week won't revive dead plants.

Good corn Harvest in Mato Grosso

By Eduardo Paim:

The corn harvest has already started in northern Mato Grosso, and the productions are surprising, we are harvesting 20% to 30% more than we expected! The soybean harvest was over and great too!

Past 7 Days Rainfall

We have just had several days of wet weather.  You could get the idea that the effects of dry weather have been averted.  If you study the map, You will find that there are many areas that had only a half inch, especially to the west. On the plus side, many parts of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana had good rain.  Some of the early planted corn is good till silking time, which is coming in two weeks.  Later planted corn was helped as far as getting roots to grow deeper, but probably more than half of the corn I have seen will need more rain to assure a decent crop.  I have not seen anything that leads me to believe that corn yields will be above trend line.  Early planted soybeans are looking good, but later planted soybeans have population issues.

Crop Condition Today

In general crop condition this spring has been fair at best.  Today as we were getting caught up on soil sampling, we were still seeing fields that are too wet to plant.  Corn was still being replanted.  Patching in will probably continue for  2 weeks.  12 acres of corn planted in Mid-March was the best looking corn we have seen.  I am not advocating for planting that early because the risk is huge.  About half the corn is starting to get some dark color.  It is also getting tall enough that you can't see the areas that have poor stands for the most part.  Smaller corn has decent stands, but we are still seeing nitrogen and sulfur deficiency symptoms, probably somewhat as a result of weather. My overall rating of corn condition is just average.

Weather is improving for now.  Next week we will start hearing from some people that a rain would be nice.  The first rain in the forecast is June 17.

Soybeans are looking a little better than corn.  Stands are more even and some early planted beans are at V2 or V3 stage.  later planted soybeans are germinating and emerging fast.  My overall rating of soybeans is slightly above average.

Weed control is an issue in some places.  I have heard of disappointing results with Dicamba and I have seen disappointing results with Liberty.

Soybeans, Corn, Corruption

By Eduardo Paim:

We have the soybean harvest finished in Brazil, it is certain that the production is record in all the states. With the accusations of corruption of the Brazilian government we had a sudden rise of the dollar and this caused the sale of soybean in large productions. Last Thursday of last week. High stocks on farms are still a concern for all farmers, today our prices depend on the Chicago Stock Exchange and corruption scandals that are always raising the dollar's prices in our country and causing better prices. We know that if the US produces a large crop of soybeans, prices must drop dramatically, that's what we expect for prices. The good thing is that we have a large soybean crop.

Let's start harvesting the corn in 20 or 30 days, the rains were perfect for corn, we will also have a large grain crop in Brazil. The prices are also small with the large production and with the largest cattle slaughterhouses in Brazil involved in the corruption scandals and the uncertainty will be paid to the cattle producers when they deliver their cattle for slaughter. We are living a year complicated with corruption, the strategy is to sell for price that does not harm as quickly as possible, because we do not know what will be the economic destination of the country.

Seed Emmergence

Yesterday we attended a program put on by Linco-Precision.  They put together one of the top one day meetings I have been to.  One of the presentations was on seed emergence in corn.  They presented data that suggests that the closer together in time that corn plants emerge for the soil, the better the yields.  The research numbers were more than significant. One of the biggest factors controlling emergence was the evenness of soil moisture.  They did not arrive at the same conclusion that I did, but they do tell you  how to achieve results.  It looks to me like you would be most likely to encounter even moisture conditions under No-Till or stale seedbed.  Prairie Farmer entitled their article, No Ear Left Behind.

Monroe County Harvest

Several people are harvesting corn in Monroe County.  Some varieties are lodging badly.  Corn is mature.  No yield report.

Best Use of Corn in Landscaping

We attended a Cardinal's - Cub's Legends game in Normal this weekend.  The game was played in the Corn Crib.  Maybe outside of Dyersville, IA, the home of Field of Dreams, this may be the best use of corn in the landscaping.  They also have a one row corn picker for a decoration.

Corn Landscaping

Corn Picker

Road Trip Report

We took a little trip to Farmington yesterday.  Lots of corn is planted and is in growth stages V2 to V5.  We did not see much a lot bigger.  There was some field activity, but not much.  Bean planting a spraying is what was going on.  We did not see any beans out of the ground.

It has been cold, so I am tempted to say the picture below is showing snow.  It is actually Cottonwood cotton in St. Charles County Missouri.  This corn was the biggest we have sampled and looked very good.

Second Crop Corn IN Brazil

By Eduardo Paim:

For here we are not having good rains; lack of rainfall is hampering the development of second crop corn. The same regions that suffered from lack of rains for soybeans are suffering from lack of rain now in corn.

The states of Bahia, Tocantins, Maranhao and Piaui are finishing harvest of soybean and productivity reduction is greater than 30%. 
For corn second crop should be reduced between 10% and 15% in production in Brazil. 

The government of Brazil / COBNAB are not talking about real numbers about our production, they say that we will reap most of what is real. 

Thinking of Applying Sugar?

A practice that has been getting some discussion in th past few years is applying sugar to the crop.  The idea is that sugar will stimulate microbes and speed up release of nutrients from soil minerals.  Producers may be looking at this practice as a way to cut back on fertilizer costs.  Ohio researchers have looked at the practice along with others around the Midwest.  According to an article in No-Till Farmer, they found no yield increase from sugar applications.

Unique Photo

This is something you don't see every day.In fact I have never seen it.  A corn cob got stuck on top of a cut off corn stalk.  The only way to take the picture was from the ground.