Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

The crops are progressing quickly due to the warm weather. While this is a good thing f or timely harvest,drier corn, and early frost worries it does come at a cost. Corn especially can have lighter weight and shallower kernels from maturing too quickly, and soybeans that are stressed from hot and dry conditions can stop filling out the newest pods. T he areas that caught rain in the last two weeks will handle these conditions much better.

Corn silage is coming out this week. I expect the first soybeans will be harvested during the last week of September and most will start during the first week of October. Unlike last year I don’t think there will be a lot of corn harvested before soybeans. In our Northwest territory I expect yields to be variable, but most corn should be from 160 to 200 bu per acre and soybeans from 45 to 55 bu per acre. Western Plymouth and Sioux counties will have much higher yields than they did last year.

The grain markets have stalled out after making a good rally. Everyone is waiting to see how the yields turn out.