Scott Metzger, Pickaway Co.
We are pretty dry. After having 10.6 inches of rain in July and almost perfect conditions, we?ve turned off dry in August. You see a lot of crops on the clay knobs and drier ground getting stressed and starting to turn. We have had a couple of inches in August right her at the shop, but a mile south we?ve had about six-tenths in the last two weeks and around Frankfurt it is more like three-tenths. There is rain in the forecast and it would be appreciated.
Our early corn is starting to black layer. I would say that within 10 days there will be some corn shelled in Pickaway County. Our stuff is still pretty green yet so it will ready to harvest around Farm Science Review. I thought I was seeing some N loss with corn firing up, but with the GDUs we?ve had it is time for that early corn to start turning. Our later planted corn is starting to dent. I could see us having all of the early corn shelled before we start beans.
I am really surprised at the diseases that came in late. It is far enough along that I don?t think they will hurt anything but I have been surprised at the disease levels in some fields I?ve been walking. Other fields, though, are really pretty clean.
We don?t have a bumper crop but we do have pretty good corn yields. In the early corn it seems like there is a lot of variability. You don?t see that in the later corn where there is more consistent girth and maybe less length. Overall I think we?ll be above average on the corn.
I think the dry weather has taken the top end off the later beans. I have seen 50 to 60 and occasionally 70 pods per plant. We have some very tall beans and they are podded pretty decent, but tall beans usually scare me. They look pretty but don?t usually yield well. The double-crops are coming along. They would really benefit from a rain. They are in R3 and the potential is there. We need some rain and not an early frost.
We?re getting the equipment, bins and grain dryer ready and I am guessing we?ll get to know the propane guy on a first-name basis this year.
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