How Good or Bad is Indiana Corn?
The crop condition report released by the NASS on Monday showed little if any improvement in the condition of our corn crop. While there is some good looking corn in Indiana, there are also a lot of thin stands and washed out parts of fields. Rod King, an agronomist with Brodbeck Seeds, says it is likely to be an average to slightly below average year overall, “I think we have some good yield potential around much of the state. If we have good summer weather, we will still end up with a nice crop.” He added the thin stands and drowned out areas will impact our overall yields.
At this point, King sees little disease or insect threats, but weeds are another story, “We see a lot of marestail out there. We have been encouraging guys to get aggressive on weed control.” He said it is important to attack weeds when they are small, “When we were using glyphosate, we could let them get a little bigger, but now, with the new products we have, we need to apply when the weeds are smaller. It is a whole new way of thinking about weed control.”
King is also warning growers to keep an eye on corn borer infestation, “Treatment is beginning around the state because we are at economic thresholds.” He said Indiana has seen an increase in recent years in the use of non-BT hybrids and, thus, more of the crop is susceptible to corn bore infestation. “Corn borer is making a comeback in Indiana,” King said.
The market is also nervous about the state of the corn crop. Tom Fritz, with EFG Group in Chicago, says there is a lot of “what if” talk going around, “All of the corn in the Midwest will pollinate during the entire month of July because of our prolonged planting window. Thus, what happens if July turns hot and dry?” He told HAT this is one of the factors driving futures prices higher this week.
