Harvest activity continued over the weekend across the state. As HAT has reported, in SW Indiana more than half of the corn harvest is complete, but in SE Indiana the pace is much slower. While earlier than normal, harvest is still running behind most of the rest of the state, reports Brian Bush, field agronomist with DuPont Pioneer, “On corn I would say we are between 25 and 40% complete and only about 10% done with soybeans.”
Bush told HAT, for the most part, the corn harvest is going well, and farmers are mostly pleased with the quality of the grain they are getting, although there are some cases when stalk integrity has failed. “It is really very spotty, you will have a field in Jackson County that is standing fine and another in Jennings County that is laying down.” He added that it all is about when you got rain and how much stress the crop had. Bush said the actual cases of aflatoxin infestation has been very low in SE Indiana, “We have had a few isolated cases, but we did not see it take off like had been feared.”
Bush said he is urging growers to take a different approach when evaluating hybrid performance this year, “I am recommending growers cast a wide net when judging hybrids this year.” He said look at a wide variety of field and plot data to get an idea of a hybrid’s performance. He added this will give you a better idea of a products potential year in and year out.
[audio:https://www.hoosieragtoday.com//wp-content/uploads//2012/09/SE-IN-harvest.mp3|titles=Harvest Pace Slow in Southeast Indiana]Listen to the complete interview with Brian Bush here, and in the audio section of the Hoosier Ag Today Smartphone app.