North Central Iowa
With another great week of weather, harvest is rapidly progressing in Kevin Meyer’s north central Iowa territory. Corn harvest took the backseat to soybeans this week as producers concentrated on making the most of great field conditions. The little bit of corn that was harvested is drying down nicely in the field with moisture levels in the teens. Soybean growers are very happy with yields, which are being reported in the upper 70s to 80 bushels per acre (bu/A). On Friday, Kevin helped harvest a test plot where Latham® L1985R2 won with 72 bu/A. Plots are coming out quickly with L2440R2 and L2182R2 at the top of most. Nearly 80 percent of the soybeans have been harvested and Kevin is anticipating another great week, with harvest at full speed, because no precipitation is in the forecast.
Northeast Iowa
Harvest is in full swing throughout Nick Benson’s northeast Iowa territory. Most farmers are taking out soybeans in full force this week. There have been some exceptionally high yields. In two different fields this week, L2440R2 yielded around 70 bu/A. Nick has ridden a few combines that have returned to corn. It’s now very dry, with most corn between 15 and 18% moisture. Yields are extremely variable, from 250 bu/A in fields that are well tiled and utilized late season Nitrogen to as low as 70 b/A where this wasn’t the case. Farmers are generally seeing a 5 to 10% yield increase when they side-dressed. In particular, LH 5376 VT3 showed up extremely well in these “extra Nitrogen” situations.
Wisconsin
Steve Bailie reports corn yields are raising farmers’ expectations. Many growers in southwestern Wisconsin have been getting average field yields in the 195 to 215 bushel range with a few reaching 230 bu/A in highly managed fields. These are the highest yields many growers here have ever seen as yields typically average 180 bu/A here. Growers are seeing that product placement plays a very important role in reaching their yield goals. Soybeans this year are showing the same strength as the corn yields are. With timely rains and enough sunny days, growers have been able to reach yields as high as 80 to 85 b/A in some of the highly productive soils. Many growers have experienced average yields of 65 to 70 bu/A this year. With soybeans yields being as high as they are and with the price per bushel as high as it has been, these past two weeks have been an eye opener for many growers who are seeing the potential profit per acre this year.