Jun 26, 2013
Trip Report - Western Ohio, Indiana, Eastern Illinois - 6/23/13
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Western Ohio
- The soils in western Ohio have dried out to the point where some moisture stress is becoming apparent on the later planted corn whose roots are not yet deep into the subsoil.
- The corn crop in Ohio is variable with the earliest planted corn being the best. Some fields are shoulder high, dark green in color, very robust and have an excellent yield potential.
- The latest planted corn is only 6 inches tall, yellowish green in color, it won't pollinate until early August, and it has a much lower yield potential.
- The average corn in Ohio is between knee high to waist high with good color and an average yield potential.
- In the dryer areas the corn was starting to curl its leaves indicating that moisture stress were starting to develop. There was also a lot of stunted corn in areas where water had ponded earlier in the spring.
- Overall, I would rate the corn crop in Ohio as having an average to slightly above average yield potential. The corn was not as good as I expected given the fact that it is the highest rated corn crop in the Corn Belt.
- The soybeans in Ohio were quite disappointing. The crop is very delayed, short in stature, poor color, spotty stands in many areas, and growing slowly in many areas due to dry topsoil.
- The best soybeans are 6-8 inches tall with a good color and an average yield potential at this point.
- The worst soybeans had just barley emerged and were only a couple of inches tall.
- There are a lot of soybean fields with very spotty stands with many drowned out spots.
- At this point, I would say the soybeans in Ohio are below par and would need a very good July and August to achieve a trend line yield.
Indiana
- Eastern Indiana is generally dry (similar to Ohio) and western Indian has adequate moisture. There were even a few spots of standing water in far western Indiana.
- The center pivot irrigation systems were running on the sandy soils of northern Indiana.
- The corn in eastern Indiana is probably below average and there were signs of moisture stresses developing. The corn in eastern Indiana was quite variable within the field and between fields. The corn is short and stunted in areas where water had ponded earlier in the spring. Some of the drowned out spots had been replanted and some of the spots had not been replanted. The average corn height in eastern Indiana is knee high to waist high Owith an average yield potential at best.
- The corn in western Indiana is better than in eastern Indiana. It is taller, probably waist high, it has a good color, there is adequate to surplus soil moisture, and it probably has an average to above average yield potential.
- The one concern in western Indiana is the variability of the crop where there was standing water earlier in the spring. Some of the drowned out spots had been replanted and some of those were under water again after the weekend rains.
- The soybeans in Indiana are not as good as the corn. A lot of the soybeans are very short with spotty stands and are slow developing. The most advanced soybeans are 6-8 inches tall and the most delayed soybeans are just emerging. There were even a few fields that looked like there had not been planted.
- Overall, I would say the soybeans were disappointing given how delayed they are and the fact that it almost July.
Eastern Illinois
- The soil moisture in eastern Illinois went from adequate to excessive after the rains that fell on Saturday. There was a lot of standing water again in the low spots on Sunday afternoon which drowned out some of the crops that had been replanted.
- The corn in eastern Illinois ranges from 6 inches tall to shoulder high with the average height about waist high. I thought the best corn looked very good with good color, good health, and a good yield potential.
- The worst corn in eastern Illinois was very short in height, delayed in development, poor color, variable, and lacking nitrogen.
- The soybeans in eastern Illinois are a work in progress. The best soybeans are 6-8 inches tall with good color and an average yield potential.
- The latest planted soybeans in eastern Illinois are three or four weeks delayed in their development. The last picture (below) shows a field in eastern Illinois where the soybeans had just emerged. This was a common sight in eastern Illinois and Soybeans that are this delayed
Summary
Generally, I thought the corn in the eastern Corn Belt was not as good as I expected especially since Ohio and Indiana have some of the best rated corn. There is a lot of variability in the corn and that never bodes well for outstanding yields. If the corn in the eastern Corn Belt is supposed to make up for problems in the western Corn Belt, that may not happen.
The soybeans in the eastern Corn Belt were quite disappointing. A lot of the soybeans had spotty stands, were slow growing, and have a below average yield potential. Soybeans can look bad during the month of June, but still end up with average yields if July and August have good weather. This soybean crop is so delayed in the eastern Corn Belt that it would take excellent growing conditions over the next two months to achieve trend line yields.