Blog

Jun 29, 2020

Kansas and Missouri Field Notes

Key Issues: Production

  “The corn is doing very well. It was starting to get pretty dry around here. Then, last weekend, we caught an inch of rain. Last night, we got another ½ inch to an inch depending on the field. The rain gave the corn a shot in the arm, and it looks like it’s doing very well right now.”* - Lowell Neitzel, Kansas farmer (June 25, 2020)   *The evening after Neitzel spoke with us, a heavy rain totaling 4 1/2 inches fell on his farm. The photo shows the impact on a replanted cornfield.     “Our corn crop looks great. It has grown a foot or so since last week. It is that beautiful deep, dark green with the leaves as large as my hand. You can’t even see the rows because it is so full.”   - Addie Yoder, Missouri farmer (June 25, 2020)    

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Jun 22, 2020

Minnesota and Iowa Field Notes

Key Issues: Production

Author: Cathryn Wojcicki

  “I am happy with the way our crop is looking now. It’s between knee- and waist-high and coming along nicely. 75 to 80 percent of corn is in excellent condition. The rains have been spotty. We had 3/10 of an inch of rain yesterday. One mile south, they had a full inch and another mile south 2 ½ inches. So, we’re sitting well on moisture.” – Bryan Biegler, Minnesota farmer   “The crop had been incredible until the last two days. Corn loves the hot and warm temperatures, so it took off over the last week. Neighbors got hail damage. I’m waiting for the rain to stop to survey for damage on my crop. The flooding will drain, so it should recover given how far along the crop is in terms of maturity.” – April Hemmes, Iowa farmer

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Jun 15, 2020

North Dakota and Illinois Field Notes

Key Issues: Production

Author: Cathryn Wojcicki

  “We finished harvesting 2019 corn on June 1. We finished planting 2020 corn, at least what we could, just a hair before that. Now, we’re planting our edible beans. We grow navy and pinto beans. We had two inches of rain about two weeks ago. Today, we’re planting one more field of edible beans, and we’ll hang it up after that. We’ve planted less corn, in terms of the percentages of acres we intended, in 2019. In North Dakota, planting went worse than even last year.” – Randy Melvin, North Dakota farmer     “Our corn looks good. It is anywhere from knee to shoulder high. It is ready to grow, and we’ve finished side dressing.” – Jim Raben, Illinois farmer

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Jun 8, 2020

Ohio and Nebraska Field Notes

Author: Cathryn Wojcicki

  “We’re hoping to finish planting by the end of the week if we get lucky. While there’s a little rain in the forecast for later today, it doesn’t sound like enough to impact us significantly. We will finish planting later than we would like, but it’s better here than it was last year.” - Patty Mann – Ohio farmer (June 3, 2020)     “This week, we’ve been side-dressing corn with fertilizer and herbicides. We’ve only had to irrigate a small bit as we’ve had timely rains. The crop looks really good. We are about average for crop stage, growth and maturity. We had a warm week, so the crop is growing fast.” - Andy Jobman – Nebraska farmer (June 5, 2020)

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Jun 1, 2020

Kansas and Missouri Field Notes

Key Issues: Production

Author: Cathryn Wojcicki

  “Our corn crop is finally getting some heat and starting to get some color again. It’s really healthy and growth is taking off now that it has recovered from the cold snap. Soybean planting is a long way from done, but we are making progress every day.” - Lowell Neitzel, Kansas farmer     “Finally, we got the corn sprayed so that it looks like a field and not a pasture. We will have to replant in the bottom-ground but, overall, it looks pretty good. In some places, there are a few yellow streaks, so it needs some heat.  From what I can tell, USDA would fit it in the good to excellent.” - Addie Yoder, Missouri farmer

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