The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that 17 percent of corn has been harvested, behind the 2012–2016 average of 26 percent harvested at this time. Corn conditions are reported as 14 percent excellent, 49 percent good, 25 percent fair, nine percent poor and three percent very poor as of October 1. For soybeans, 22 percent have been harvested compared to the 2012–2016 average of 26 percent at this time. Twelve percent of soybeans have been listed in excellent condition, 48 percent in good, 28 percent in fair, nine percent poor and three percent very poor. These figures are gathered from the 18 states that harvested 95 percent of the 2016 soybean acreage and 94 percent of the 2016 corn acreage.
In parts of Stine’s sales territory, harvest is moving along. In Region 12 (west central Illinois), most farmers are focused on soybeans and are choosing to let their corn continue to dry in the field. According to Region 12 RSA Luke Crawford, “We’re seeing very good yields with Stine® LibertyLink® soybeans this season. Standout varieties include Stine 36LE32 and 38LE02 brand soybeans.” As for corn harvest, Luke notes that they’re seeing good yields where they had rain. In some parts of the region, however, it was really dry, so yields are lower than they have been in the past. Of the new corn numbers that they’ve been able to harvest, Stine 9734-20, 9808E-20, 9734-0 and 9714-0 stand out. That being said, there is still a lot more corn to come out in Region 12.
In Stine Region 8 (north central Missouri), RSA Mike Eckels said some of Stine’s corn hybrids are pulling in solid yields. A corn plot near Sedalia had some yields ring in on the higher end. Stine 9728E-G brand corn yielded 189.1 bu/acre, Stine 9734-20 brand corn yielded 197.1 bu/acre, Stine 9814-11 brand corn yielded 235.8 bu/acre and Stine 9714-G brand corn yielded 187.8 bu/acre. All hybrids were planted at a population of 29,000 in 30-inch rows.
Stay tuned for more harvest updates in the coming weeks.