Jun 23, 2010
Central Corn Belt Receiving Too Much of a Good Thing
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Heavy rains continue to sweep across the central Corn Belt leaving saturated soils and standing water in their wake. The nation's soil moisture held steady last week, but the situation was anything but static. The soils in the central Corn Belt got wetter while the soils in the Delta got dryer. The soils in Illinois for example are rated as 60% saturated, Iowa has 55% saturated conditions, Ohio has 53%, and Indiana has 52% saturated. In contrast, the soils in Arkansas are rated as 60% short to very short, Louisiana has 51% short, and Mississippi is 39% short. Some farmers in southern Iowa and northern Missouri have not been able to get into their fields at all during the month of June.
These saturated conditions are a mounting concern in central Nebraska, northeastern Kansas, southern Iowa, northern Missouri, central Illinois, central Indiana, and northwestern Ohio. The nationwide condition of both corn and soybeans declined this past week due primarily to the saturated conditions.
Too much rain during the month of June is causing uneven development of both the corn and soybean crops. If the soils are well drained, the corn crop is thriving under the hot and humid conditions. If the soils are not well drained, it is a very different story. In the saturated areas the corn is uneven in height, developing slowly, greenish yellow in color, very shallow rooted, and probably loosing some of the nitrogen that has been applied if it has been applied at all. Some of the corn acreage has been drowned out and it is now much too late to replant the corn even if it does dry out.
The final impact of the saturated conditions will be determined by the weather during the remainder of the summer. If the weather during July and August remains favorable and we have an open fall, then the corn yields should be very good. If the weather during July and August turns hot and dry, then the shallow rooted corn could have a significant problem.
The recently planted soybeans probably have an even greater problem with these saturated conditions. Small soybeans are more at risk of being drowned out by the standing water than the taller stature corn. The saturated conditions are also going to cause a lot more root diseases for the soybeans. Various types of root rots and soil fungi thrive under saturated conditions causing a loss of plants and stunted growth for the soybeans that do not completely succumb.
Another result of the recent heavy rains is the fact that the June Planted Report will now not reflect the current conditions in the field. The survey for the report was conducted during the first ten days of June, but much of the localized flooding has occurred after the survey was completed. The likely result is that the report will overestimate the actual corn acreage and it could under estimate the soybean acreage. To complicate the matter even more is the fact that some of the saturated acres will be claimed as prevent plant under the crop insurance program and they will remain empty this summer.
If the weather would dry out, the soybean crop could regain a lot of this lost growth. The soybeans are also going to be very shallow rooted which would pose a problem should the weather turn hot and dry during July and August.