From the Week of October 30, 2023
The one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about what’s happening this week in your fields.
This week’s featured agronomists are:
Dave Richter – Belle Plaine
Casey Carlson – Goodhue
Buddy Schaefer – Wanamingo
Kjersten Veiseth – Elgin
Brady Kinneman – Ellsworth
Scroll down to hear from your local agronomist!
WEST
Belle Plaine – Le Center – Le Sueur
Dave Richter
As harvest is finishing up we are well into Anhydrous Ammonia applications. Although many areas had 6-7” of rain in the last 3 weeks, the subsoil is still dry and it’s amazing how the ground is taking in the moisture and coming back into good conditions to continue applications.
As the combines finish harvest it is a good time to download and collect yield data. While harvest is fresh in our minds we can evaluate corn hybrid performance and soybean varieties for making decisions for next year. We can also check yields in case you were hit by hail or drought to get crop insurance claims in before deadlines.
Evaluating crop insurance with Spring corn prices at $5.91 and Fall prices at $4.88, if you have a 200 bu APH with 80% coverage your guarantee 200 bu x 80% is 160 bu/acre $5.91 = $945.60. Now calculate your Fall price $945.60 /$4.88 = 193.8 bu/acre. If your yields this Fall are less than 193.8 bu/ acre you may have an Insurance claim.
Soybean prices were not as extreme, but Spring price was $13.76 and Fall price is $12.84.
Have a safe Fall as you finish harvest and put equipment away for the year.
EAST
Pine Island – Cannon Falls – Goodhue – Lake City
Casey Carlson
2023 Corn Yields Are Variable and So is Your P&K Uptake
Corn yields have been surprisingly good in 2023, but also extremely variable field to field, and within the same field. In areas that saw some rain this summer (still below normal rain) new corn hybrids were significantly better than legacy products. Below the yield distribution from two fields from two different yield environments we saw 125 bushels swing from bottom 10% of yields to the top 10% of yields in both fields. The table below shows the difference in P&K uptake that corn requires at different yield levels. Do your fields currently have the fertility needed to support crop uptake for high yielding corn?
CENTRAL
Morristown – Wanamingo – Kenyon
Buddy Schaefer
Halloween looked and felt more like Christmas – oh the joys of fall in Minnesota!
With the early start to fall harvest, soybeans are pretty much wrapped up, while many could use more time to finish up the corn. Yields are all over the place for both crops. In talking with local growers in the Wanamingo area, soybeans ranged from 25-85 bu/acre, with corn yields coming in as low as 130 to field averages pushing close to 300 bu/acre.
This year is no different than any other in knowing that we need the right amount of moisture to grow a quality crop. Rain, or lack thereof, was the obvious main driver in high vs low yields in both crops. With that, rain played a huge role in stands with areas to the south seeing reduced stands because of a pounding rain right after planting, followed by very little rain during the growing season. Chemical performance was also greatly impacted by the moisture this year. Very heavy rains after application usually don’t bode well, but neither does application followed by no moisture at all. We need moisture to activate these chemicals and allow them to work effectively in keeping fields clean. In fact, troubled corn weed control was talked about more in our area this year than soybean weed control, which is very rare. Confidence in the products we are all using is still extremely high, just keep in mind that chemicals need mother nature on their side too.
Rain wasn’t the only major driver of yield. I don’t know how many times I talked with growers this fall and heard… “20 plus years ago we would have been lucky to get half the yield we got this year!” Seed cost per acre is a huge investment, but ultimately what we are after is ROI, so make sure we are planting the genetics that give us the best chance to have financial success.
The last major driver I would like to mention is soil potassium levels. Yes, many nutrients play important roles in driving yield, but if you have drainage and pH levels corrected, and are using adequate nitrogen levels ahead of growing corn, to me there is no better place to invest than potash. Continue doing grid samples every 4 years and you’ll find that correcting and building K levels is as important as about anything in producing high corn and soybean yields consistently.
Wishing you all a safe and rewarding harvest and a big thank you for sharing your operations with all of us at Ag Partners!
SOUTH
Elgin – Lewiston – Stewartville
Kjersten Veiseth
As crops come off the fields we have already begun planning for the 2024 crop season. One way to prepare for next year is to make sure that our soil tests are up to date. Currently we are in full swing of the fall grid sampling season. Grid sampling is a great way to make sure that we are getting the full fertility story on each of our fields. All fields have variability and grid sampling will tell us which parts of our fields are the highest and lowest fertility areas, allowing us to ensure that we are giving each part of the field what it needs to produce a good crop next growing season. Starting with the basics, by making sure we know our soil fertility and how much fertilizer will give us the best shot at high yields, is the first step in making sure our 2024 crop will be off to a good start. Talk to your Ag Partners Agronomist or AYS Specialist to learn more about our grid sampling programs! Also, with many farmers nearing the end of harvest we are excited to start analyzing the data from the 2023 crop year. Reach out to your AYS specialist when harvest has finished up, so we are able to gather your yield data, get it processed, and back to you in a timely manner. Have a safe rest of harvest!
WISCONSIN
Ellsworth
Brady Kinneman
Click below to hear an update from the field.
