USDA confirmed on Monday what many across the state already knew- Indiana corn and soybeans have a good chance at another record-breaking year.
“This crop looks outstanding,” says Purdue Extension’s ‘Soybean Shaun’ Casteel. “We’ve got a forecast of 62 bushels per acre at the state level, and that breaks last year’s record of 61. The crop itself, we’ve got reports statewide of 68% good to excellent, and as you drive the state, they look tremendous.”
Casteel was at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Tuesday for a live recording of the Purdue Crop Chat Podcast. He was joined by Dan ‘Corn’ Quinn and Purdue Ag Economist Chad Fiechter to discuss the August USDA reports. You can see that video below.
Casteel says this might be the most advanced soybean crop he’s ever seen in Indiana.
“You get out, you look at the canopy, you pull it back, they’re podded up well. We had a lot of beans that were planted in April and May and those are just tremendous. They’re podded well, they’ve got good node counts. I was out in a field last week and had 23 nodes, which is outstanding. We’ve got good branching. So, we’re looking forward to good crop.”
For more on this year’s crop production forecasts from USDA, click here.