Topics:
- Growing Degree Day Update/Weather Update
- Current Corn & Soybean Conditions & Harvest update
As of September 16th, we have accumulated approximately the following for Growing Degree Days in 2020:
Planting Date GDD’s2020 Average GDD Departure from average
April 21 2757 2579 +178 (+10 days)
April 26 2704 2541 +163 (+9 days)
May 1 2653 2506 +147 (+8 days)
We continue to be ahead of the 30 year average by roughly 10 days across all planting dates. The cool temps of last week slowed development down somewhat but did not have a big impact….lost probably delayed development by 3-4 days. The 6-10 and 8-14 day forecast outlooks are for warmer than normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. This should finish the corn crop and allow for some crop drydown.
Current Crop Conditions
Much of the corn crop is in the 1/3 – 2/3 milk line on the 113-116 day maturities and 3/4 to almost black layer on the rest. We are getting an extended grain fill period which should be a positive to yield. We are seeing very good kernel depth and grain color…..this should mean very good test weights and overall grain quality. Overall plant staygreen looks pretty good…..mainly seeing natural plant senescence. However, disease could potentially have an impact in areas….see below video on southern rust…..
Be aware also of potential Western Bean Cutworm damage in untreated fields….see video below….
Late Southern Rust by hybrid – September 15, 2020
Western Bean Cutworm damage – September 15, 2020
Early Harvest Update
Soybeans are really starting to turn with some dryland and early planted/early maturity irrigated starting to be harvested. While too early to be a trend, the initial yields from dryland soybeans seem to be better than expected….though this is mainly from heavy soil types so far. Yields are down from the last few years, but better than historically under drought conditions….harvest moisture running 11-12%. With current weather forecast, it is strongly encouraged to be aggressive on soybean harvest. Harvest moisture will drop rapidly under current conditions…..and a 70+ soybean yield at 13% will drop 10 bushels at 8%.
On corn, just seeing some dryland corners come out with a few starting wet corn on irrigated. Way too early for yield trends. Initial harvest moisture on dryland is 24-28%. Early test weights from dryland are very good….54-56# at the above moistures, which is very good…..that is 60# corn dried down.
Bottom line on all of this is be ready to harvest earlier than anticipated. Be aggressive with soybean harvest moisture’s if possible, as that has a direct impact on yield. The overall corn grain moisture seems to be lower than one would expect. This corn crop could potentially dry down fairly quickly if current weather conditions would extend out for a couple of weeks. In other words, it could potentially be a tight window for wet corn this year versus prior years.
Please let us know any questions or concerns you may have as harvest proceeds. Have a safe and successful harvest season!!
Starman Seed Service, Inc.
