Stine harvest roundup: Part 2

Tom Larson, director of agronomy

In my area of north-central Iowa, harvest is 100% complete for soybeans and 95% complete for corn. 

It was a race to get the soybeans harvested before they became too dry. It was not uncommon to hear of 8%–9% moisture levels. Stine’s new J-Series Enlist E3^® soybeans were outstanding in my plot, averaging over 105% of plot average.

Corn harvest has been going nonstop, with very little weather events to slow down progress. My yields were better than expected. Stine MX481-G is an exciting new glyphosate-only line that is an outstanding fully traited option in its maturity. It produces a robust plant with great root structure and disease tolerance. 

Kayla Noble, technical agronomist, Iowa and Minnesota

I have my corn and soybean Product Development Plots (PDPs) harvested in Iowa and Minnesota. I’m currently working on plots in Wisconsin.

Corn yields in many areas have averaged around 220 bu/acre. In fields heavily affected by southern rust that were not sprayed with a fungicide, we have seen yields drop off by as much as 60 bu/acre, as plants dried and died prematurely and standability diminished in some hybrids. A couple of corn lines that have stood out so far in my early/mid PDPs have been Stine MX481-G and 9531-22. We also have an experimental — EXP25 98A-20 — that’s showing strong, consistent performance.

Soybean yields across the area have averaged 60–70 bu/acre in Iowa and 50–60 bu/acre in Minnesota. We did see some root and stem rot diseases, such as sudden death syndrome, brown stem rot and Phytophthora root rot, show up this year, but I haven’t heard of significant yield impacts. However, prolonged heavy rains throughout the growing season in western Minnesota hindered growing conditions and yields. Varieties between 1.5–2.5 relative maturities that have displayed consistency in strong yield performance so far include Stine 17EJ22, 18EJ32, 24EH32 and 25EJ92.

Erik Salm, field agronomist, Wisconsin

The favorable weather over the past five days has allowed most growers to complete their soybean harvest, and I would estimate that we are over 90% complete. Yields have been very strong, with many growers reporting results above their historical farm averages.

Corn harvest is currently in full swing this week. We have encountered quite a bit of corn with moisture levels under 20%. Coupled with the high yields being reported, this has led to some very happy growers across the state of Wisconsin.

Susan Hart, field agronomist, western Minnesota, North Dakota and northern South Dakota

Soybeans are mostly wrapped up at around 90% harvested, with just a few that were delayed by wet weather. We’re hoping to finish as soon as we dry up some. I’ve heard from our sellers and seen in our plot data that Stine 08EG62 is really shining this year. 

Corn is starting out slow. Farmers are beginning to poke around fields but are running into pretty high moistures. A few who planted earlier maturities are having success getting some acres covered. Overall, we probably only have 30% harvested. The Red River Valley is still working on sugar beets, so, hopefully, they will finish those acres and move on to more corn soon. I have liked the looks of Stine 9105-10 in the plots but haven't heard much yet on yield. The agronomics look good on it. With a semi-fixed ear, we can drive the population a little more when we get into narrower row spacings that we tend to see in the valley. Looks can be deceiving on this semi-fixed ear type, but it seems to really gain yield with the kernel depth and good test weight. Stine 9213-G has also been having a good year. We have some growers in the Red River Valley who are really excited to get into these fields after looking at them late season. It has also been showing really well in our plots, and we still have good availability of this hybrid, so we can get it out on more acres next year.