Mid-way through the '06 harvest season, the pattern is still unclear as to how this season will b remembered yield-wise in Indiana. A trend for higher soybean yields than expected and decent but not great corn yields seems to be emerging, but those are generalities. There are instances not following the trend already reported. It may turn out that like the somewhat inconsistent weather pattern, which featured good stretches and bad stretches at key times, Indiana yields may be up and down depending upon not only where you live, but when you planted and what you planted where.
On the corn side one farm manager from the northwest Indiana area reports that yields are good, but not as good as hoped. 'Good' is a relative term. Many framers in the prairie soils of northwest Indiana shoot for 180 bushels per acre or better every year. The same farm manger reported soybeans seemed to be running on the high side, with yields in the 60's being fairly common.
One central Indiana farmer topped 220 bushels per acre in a measured contest plot. But he threw everything out there but the kitchen sink, and admittedly knew it wouldn't likely be profitable. He wanted to see how high yields could go. And even at that, he believes he may have encountered a problem that hurt stand in parts of the field. He says it's a problem he can correct for next year, when he plans to go for high yields once again.
Turning to soybeans, Tracy Mabry, Morgantown, reports 69 bushels per acre on 8 acres of modest land, at best, planted February 28 and March 1. Maybe it won't make Ripley's Believe It or Not, but those who know Mabry, have seen the field and saw the elevator ticket, know it's true. Later –planted soybeans on his farm are running mostly in the '50s (per bushel range).
Another south-central Indiana farmer reports a large field hitting the mid-60's on droughty ground. He has irrigation, but didn't irrigate the soybeans. There's only one time he considered it, and the irrigation pivot was on the corn side of the field, so he passed. He's learned that routinely irrigating soybeans too often can result in undesirable reactions, such as too much vegetative growth and too many disease problems later in the season.
Would you like to pass on how crops are doing in your area? Email us at tbechman@farmprogress.com. We would love to know how crops are performing where you live.