Day 1 of the 2021 Pro Farmer Crop Tour is in the books. It was a beautiful day in South Dakota. There was a nice breeze overnight that kept the dew off the crops, which kept us dry without rain gear. I’m not sure the guys on the eastern leg of the Tour could stay dry even with rain gear this morning!
As always, 10 scout teams left Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this morning and set out on 10 different routes: four headed north of I-90 to pull samples from Crop District 6; most routes drove west, while a few routes headed straight south and southeast from Sioux Falls. We pulled a record 88 corn and 88 soybean samples from South Dakota, compared to a three-year average of 70 corn and 70 soybean samples.
After getting past the end-rows (let the debate begin on what you want to call them), we pace off 35 steps down the “main rows” and measure off two 30-foot plots. All the ears that will make grain are counted... not plants, not shoots... ears that will make grain. The 5th, 8th and 11th ear from one row is pulled for additional measurements. Those include calculating the average number of kernel rows around the ear and the average length of grain (not the cob).
The average ear count in South Dakota was 88.68, down slightly (-0.7%) from last year’s 89.33 but above the 3-year average of 87.87
The average length of grain in 2021 was 6.31, down from last year’s 7.34 inches (-14%) and below the 3-year average of 7.13 inches.
The average number of kernel rows hit 15.68, below last year’s 16.20 (-3.2%) and the three-year average of 16.02.
The average estimated yield was 151.45 bu. per acre, down 15.5% from last year’s 179.24 and below the 3-year average of 170.44 bu. per acre.
The big hit was on the length of grain. My route took us on the northern and western areas of the Tour area, which had high heat and dry conditions in June. That’s when the corn plants were determining how many rows would be around the ear, and the effects of excess heat and dryness showed up on my route, with an average number of kernel rows below 15. The crop on the eastern part of the western Tour pulled the average back up to within a half-point of the normal 16.
The South Dakota corn crop “rushed” from emergence to pollination... and really didn’t slow down after pollination. Samples pulled today were in the dent stage and it’s not unusual (or concerning) to see a corn crop in the dough stage at this time of the year. The crop was planted early, but it certainly appears to have dented ahead of schedule. There is corn being chopped in South Dakota – that’s something that normally starts after Labor Day. The early finish to the crop could ultimately reduce kernel size... and yield.
Storm damage increased in southern South Dakota... Douglas and Charles Mix Counties. Disease pressure was light, as was insect pressure. Some corn and soybean fields are dealing with weed outbreaks, but weed pressure for now is relatively light.
On soybeans, the average number of pods in a 3-by-3 square of 997 was down 20.3% from last year. But that’s down just 3.8% from the 3-year average. That’s why we described the bean crop as “ordinary” throughout the day.
The biggest concern is the moisture level. We rate the moisture on a scale of 1 (dry) to 6 (standing water). This year’s index was 2.26, about half of what it was last year. That means this year’s bean crop needs more rain. I know that’s obvious, but some bean fields are on the edge of significant yield loss from what we observed today. Other fields have a few more days before losses would add up – but the entire South Dakota bean crop will “pull back” without rain within the week. Scouts today noted that some fields have already aborted the top cluster of pods because of moisture stress. Very simply, that means the “pull-back” has already started.
Today, we covered northeast Nebraska, including everything east of Grand Island and north of the Platte River. Most irrigation pivots were running in northeast Nebraska today, for both corn and soybeans. Tomorrow we venture through the southeastern part of the state over to Nebraska City, east of Hastings and south of the Platte River. We’ll find out how the dryland crop of eastern Nebraska held onto yield over the past couple of weeks.