Harvest Nears Halfway Mark in SW Indiana

Harvest Nears Halfway Mark in SW Indiana

According to the latest USDA crop update, 70% of Indiana corn is mature and 18% has been harvested. Over 80% of Hoosier soybeans are mature with 23% already harvested. In some parts of Southern Indiana, the harvest is halfway complete. With almost 3 weeks of sunny days and no rain, the harvest pace has been fast and furious in SW Indiana, according to Dan Emmert, field agronomist with DuPont Pioneer, “Just about everyone in SW Indiana is in the field harvesting.”

Prior to harvest, there was concern about the corn being too wet. That has not turned out to be an issue, “We have seen corn dry down very rapidly, and this has allowed harvest to move ahead in most areas.” Emmert said even the soybeans are drying down at a very rapid rate, “I talked to some guys who had soybean moisture of 9%.” This has forced some growers to push their soybean harvest ahead of their corn harvest.

Stalk strength in corn has been an issue across the state. In SW Indiana it is not due so much to a lack of nitrogen, but to a lack a fungicide, “Especially along the Ohio River, we had southern rust come in late and really took a toll on this crop. Even hybrids that would have good stalk strength had been hit hard when a fungicide was not used.”

Emmert said yields were quite variable and depended on when the crop had been planted or replanted and what field and weather conditions had been like. In general, he said yields were good but below what growers had seen in 2013 and 2014. On Monday, USDA said total US corn harvest was 18% complete and the soybean harvest was 21% complete.