Crops Almost Ready for Harvest

Corn and soybeans across the Midwest are almost ready for harvest. Farmers in many states are expecting to begin harvest in the next couple of weeks. Silage in Iowa and Ohio is already being cut, and agronomists in Michigan are advising farmers to consider early harvest this year. Fields in Minnesota and Illinois will likely begin being harvested in the next two weeks.
 
While soybeans in some states are lagging slightly behind corn (agronomists in South Dakota advise farmers to harvest corn before soy this year), both crops are expected to produce healthy yields. According to a recent USDA progress report, crops in Illinois are rated between 80 percent and 85 percent good/excellent, and crops in Wisconsin are between 85 percent and 87 percent good/excellent. Ample rainfall over the past 30 days has contributed to healthy crops, especially in Michigan and Indiana.
 
Disease pressure throughout the Midwest has been lighter than usual, but agronomists in Wisconsin have noticed northern corn leaf blight and Goss’s wilt in some corn fields, and those in Iowa have seen some anthracnose and top dieback. In soybeans, agronomists have seen some SDS and white mold pressure in fields across Wisconsin and Ohio.
 
Agronomists throughout the Midwest advise farmers to conduct push tests on corn to assess stalk quality and standability. Monitoring stalk quality, standability and disease is the best way to determine harvest order. Farmers should harvest the weakest fields first to get the most out of each field.