Slightly higher temperatures and drier forecasts allowed growers who experienced a slowdown from weather earlier this month to get back in the field. On October 21, corn harvest was reported as 49 percent complete, which is 12 percent ahead of schedule compared to last year. On the other hand, soybean harvest still lags behind with only 53 percent harvested compared to 67 percent at this time last year. With the weather change, Stine RSAs in the North and Midwest can report harvest progress in their regions.
Todd Schomburg, Region 4 (northwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska)
Rain prevented field work for many growers until last week when farmers finally returned to the field. Most growers started with corn, and similar to previous months, the southern and eastern parts of Region 4 are ahead of the northern region because crops were planted later in the northern section. Soybean harvest began late last week and has continued into this week.
Since we can finally enter the fields, we’ve had good yields so far. Soybeans are yielding better than I expected in the southern section. We’re hearing good reports from Stine® GT27™ soybeans. Corn yields vary since it depends on the amount of excess moisture and the dry period the region had during the summer. Another downfall from all the rain we had recently is that it can potentially hold back your fertilization program for the following year, especially for fall-applied nitrogen.
Bethany Oland, Region 7 (South Dakota)
After a delayed start, soybean harvest for Region 7 is approximately 75 percent complete, and corn is 30 percent complete. For soybeans, Stine 15GA02, 13LJ02 and 11LJ22 are performing great. For corn, Stine 9316-20, 9212-20 and 9101-G are performing well. The southern and central parts of our region received timely rains during the growing season, and yield monitors are reflecting it. Rain slowed during mid-summer in the northwest section, and soybeans are showing effects from the slowdown. The corn handled the drought stress better, and we’re excited to see yield data from that area.
Chad Kuehl, Region 5 (southern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa)
With the rain and snow in Nebraska earlier this month, we’ve been making a hard push since the end of last week. There has been approximately 40 percent of corn and 60 percent of soybeans harvested. Stine 26BA32 and 28BA02 brand soybeans are doing very well. Stine ISR Jake Knauss had a small field of the 26BA32’s average 94 bushels per acre. On the corn side, we’re seeing good things from Stine 9734-G and 9709-G across the region.
Darrin Petty, Region 20 (southwestern Iowa, northwestern Missouri, northern Kansas)
A few weeks ago, we had three inches of snow in southwestern Iowa and four inches in north central Kansas. Combines have started rolling again on both corn and soybeans. Corn yields are looking good where there was rain. Soybean yields are coming in strong. Stine 25LH62 had a field average of 72 bushels per acre over 40 acres, and Stine 28BA02 is averaging 92 bushels per acre in some fields. Stine 26GA32 and 27GA12 look great and are averaging around 70–72 bushels.