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According to the latest USDA Crop Progress Report from Sept. 5, 2023, 66 percent of both Indiana’s corn and soybean crops are rated in good-to-excellent condition. However, those ratings may slip if we don’t receive adequate moisture in the form of timely rains before harvest.
“We’re hoping to get something here to help fill out these beans as it gets towards the finish line,” says Rob Schuman, Field Sales Representative with Specialty Hybrids based out of Whitley County in northeastern Indiana. “Seed size is a big component of soybean yield and that’s what would be possibly compromised here if we don’t get something really soon here in terms of moisture.”
Schuman says drought stress has been an ongoing theme this growing season with corn and soybean crops across much of the state.
“We kind of started the growing season off from a difficult perspective,” according to Schuman. “It was really dry early on, and so we had some weed control challenges that popped up because we didn’t have enough moisture to activate some residual chemicals. Then we got into July when most areas had adequate rain. Some places had more rain than they wanted. That kind of progressed up to the middle of August and then it kind of started to turn off dry in a lot of areas.”
Schuman believes that soybean harvest should remain on schedule.
I think we’ll get started on soybeans in a fairly normal time frame,” says Schuman. “Depending on how this crop finishes out, we’ll determine a lot of the pace of harvest. If guys end up going to get the corn and the quality of it is compromised from a disease standpoint, you have to get out of the field, but a lot of that’s remains to be seen at this point.”
The update is sponsored by Specialty Hybrids. At Specialty Hybrids, it’s your field, our Specialty. Find your local field sales representative and dealer online at www.specialtyhybrids.com.