Pre Harvest Update

Soybean yield has been quite variable as we expected, with yields ranging from 20 to 55 depending on variety but most of all depending on precipitation and soil type. Most of the corn that has been pulled off at this point has been drought stressed or wind damaged and yields are even more variable. That being said, there is a lot of decent looking corn to be harvested, and I would argue it should be done sooner rather than later.

A lot of corn is black layered, meaning it is physiologically done, and no more nutrients will be transferred into the cob. At this stage the grain is usually 32% moisture and will dry down from there. Because all of this corn has experienced some drought stress, the stalks are not very strong. Whatever was in the stalk got transferred into the cob to produce the grain we will be harvesting. We can see this playing out in many areas that got high winds and storms throughout August and September. These stalks will not hang on until Christmas this year, and you should be doing everything in your power to get these fields off before a heavy snowfall. That may mean combining 25% corn and getting that dryer going.

Among the poor stalks and poor brace roots however, we were able to weed out some varieties that were BETTER than others. Even in the high wind areas we were able to identify varieties that stood much better than others. Croplan 3795, and 4188 handled the wind better than most and look quite good heading into harvest. Dekalb 39-55 and 41-99 also looked better than most in the weather events.

2021 brought on many challenges ranging from heat stress, drought stress, and high winds. And although yields will be lower than average in most areas, we can learn a lot about our hybrids and varieties from a year like this.

Talk to your Belgrade Coop Agronomist to find out more about the stable and high yielding seed varieties that we have to offer. 

Jackson Gregory, Belgrade Coop Agronomist