Stine^® crop progress update: Part 2

Bill Kessinger, technical agronomist, eastern Midwest, southern U.S. and the East Coast  

The Deep South is moving along. Crops look good in southeast Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Corn planting is complete, with most corn in V6 to tassel stage. With the multiple crops we have, some soybeans are knee-high already, and planting will continue through next month. Spraying and weed control are the topics of the day there. Texas has had some heavy rain in places, causing issues with planting. That said, we had some Stine^•9320-20 planted in January in the Rio Grande, and it was harvested last week.

Tennessee and Kentucky started off great, with lots of crops planted in the last two weeks of April that got out of the ground well. Then, May showed up, and the area has been hit hard with rain. Some areas had heavy damage with last weekend’s storms. Rolling hills and lots of water don’t mix. Several rivers and creeks have left their banks, washing out the bottom ground. Wet weather has caused some disease issues to pop up, and we’ve seen some slug damage as well.

Southern Indiana, Illinois and Ohio have been pounded with rain. It’s been extremely spotty; some areas have completed planting and others are less than 20% planted. The forecast continues to have rain in it, so it will be hit and miss for growers in this region. Central Indiana and Michigan have seen spotty storms roll through over the past two weeks, but farmers have gotten a lot done in a short time. Standing water in areas will bring replant concerns. Slug pressure and cutworms have also begun to cause issues in damp, slow-growing areas along with some seedling diseases. If we can miss a few showers, hopefully most should finish things up over the next week to 10 days.

The northern two-thirds of Illinois had a good run the first part of May and got a significant amount accomplished, but then they were hit with severe storms two weeks ago. Corn is slightly more uneven than we would prefer but overall has a solid stand. Many growers are finished with planting butsorting out replanting decisions.

Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York have been wet. Central and northern Ohio have started in the field despite the wet conditions. Most missed the heavy rains in last weekend’s showers and were able to get a lot accomplished last week. Similar to Indiana’s slugs, cutworms and seedlings disease pressure are issues growers are facing with the warm, wet weather. Pennsylvania and New York are in a little better shape finishing things up. The far eastern parts got some planting done early, while the west and northern parts really got going over the past week.

Our eastern growers in the Carolinas, Delaware and Maryland are on schedule. The full-season crops are planted and out of the ground. They have lots of diversity in that area, so soybeans are in rotation with multiple other crops that will continue over the next month. They get the gold star, as they are in the best shape.

Overall, I think we have made good progress for the hand we were dealt. Farmers always surprise me with how fast they can get things done once they get a window. It also amazes me how quickly we can get Product Development Plots (PDPs) planted, thanks to our field agronomists in my region, including Ian and Jacob. Even with the weather, we have gotten 21 corn and 11 soybean PDPs planted. Every year gives us challenges; that is the great part about working in agriculture. Everyone works together to make things happen. You might lose a little sleep, miss a few meals and watch the days run together, but every year the agricultural community finds a way to make it work out. Outstanding group of people!

Tyler DuBay, soybean technical agronomist, Illinois

Farmers in Illinois did a great job of planting early in mid-April. Some aggressive farmers got into their fields and did corn and soybeans at the same time to finish by mid to late April. Those who focused on one crop at a time mainly planted soybeans and had to wait until the rains subsided in early to mid-May before planting corn. Growers who had to deal with pop-up showers were slightly more delayed. If rain holds off, Illinois farmers should be able to finish before June 1 hits, as we see a dry stretch coming.

For our plots, we were able to accomplish some early planting in April. Those in the ground in southern Illinois have had a tough time getting out of the ground. I have seen some dampening off, crusting and some slight phytophthora presence in the tough saturated soils in southern Illinois. The northern plots went in smoothly and had excellent emergence. They look great with the timely showers they have been getting. In central Illinois, the crop has boomed out of the ground with all the available moisture and is off to a great start.

Ian Matzenbacher, field agronomist, central and southern Illinois

Crop planting has ramped up in the past week in my region, with some being completely done and others about a quarter or halfway finished. Lots of rain has slowed progress up until this point, with only a few days to get anything done, but everyone’s making the most of it. There are some concerns if we will be finished in time. Growers are hoping they don't have to move to earlier maturities. Two corn PDP plots went in on May 20 and 21 in southern and central Illinois. One corn PDP and one soybean PDP still need to be planted in my region. 

Kayla Noble, technical agronomist, eastern Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois

Planting began mid-April for the Upper Midwest, and most areas had a good one to two weeks of favorable conditions before the first round of storms and heavy rains. Continued rains over the last month have really delayed planting, with some growers being stuck out of the field for 15+ days. Progress was sporadic at the beginning of May, but things really picked up the week of the 13th, as growers were finally able to make some steady headway before the last big round of storms, which again halted progress for some. Conditions this week have remained less than ideal for many, and rains are once again forecasted through the weekend. Sunshine and warmer temperatures look to be on their way, and hopefully most will begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Regarding PDPs, we had three corn plots planted by the second full week of May and no beans in the ground yet. As of today, we have all 13 corn plots and 7 of 10 soybean plots planted.

On the downside, we are beginning to see the effects of the cool, wet spring as crops are emerging. Uneven stands, germination issues, diseases, ponding and herbicide damage are starting to show, emphasizing the importance of getting back in the fields soon to monitor emergence and seedling conditions to quickly diagnose and address any issues.

Tony Lenz, technical agronomist, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and southern Minnesota

This planting season has turned out to be one of the longer drawn-out time frames we have had in many years. We started plots back in mid-April and still have three more on the corn side to plant this week. 

Most corn plots experienced cool, wet conditions since planting but are still achieving great Day 1 and Day 2 emergence scores after only being in ground for a few weeks. Many are well over 90% emergence in that first critical two-day window, which helps capture maximum yield potential. We will continue to evaluate these new Stine hybrids and experimental products throughout the growing season and do in-field training with our sales group this summer. Hopefully, our regions can wrap up all corn and soybean plots this week.

Some agronomy questions of note we’ve been asked in our regions include, “How low of a corn stand do you leave?” and “How late of a date can we replant corn and even soybeans?”

In the northern regions I cover, most university data says we can leave a corn stand of 24,000 or even down to 20,000 and a soybean stand as low as 75,000 as we get into this last week of May¹. These stands can get you the same yield potential percentage as replanting at this point. Another concern is if the crop has been under water for more than three to four days, you will likely need to replant with the soils being depleted of oxygen because of the warm and sunny days we’ve had. It’s crazy the difference one year can make!

Ben Shepherd, field agronomist, North Dakota, northern South Dakota and western Minnesota

For my region, we have a wide range of things going on. Some areas have seen over three inches of rain in the last week, so planting has slowed there. Some places have had very little rain this past week, so the corn planting progress is mostly completed. The corn and soybeans that were planted in late April and early May look very good at this point. I would just ask for some warmer, dryer weather to continue the growth and to dry things out so the areas that have received moisture this week can finish planting soon.

In North Dakota, western Minnesota and northern South Dakota, all but one of the corn PDP plots have been planted. A few plots have emerged, and some of the hybrids look very good so far. For the soybean PDP plots, all but one have been planted. The early planted soybean plots look very good. I look forward to taking notes on the new genetics this growing season.