Final day of the 2022 Pro Farmer Crop Tour had us starting out on a split route starting at Fern on IA 14 and continuing about straight up to the MN border. The crew today was Jason Cari at the wheel, Jake from USDA, and me along for the ride. The day went by very quickly. We worked in a businesslike manner and before we knew it, we’d pulled 10 samples for the day. We were in the IA counties of Grundy, Butler, Floyd, and Mitchell Grundy is in crop reporting district 5 and the rest are district 2. On the MN side, we sampled in the counties of Mower and Dodge, both district 9.
On our route today we saw an IA crop that disappointed in many respects. Our IA route average corn yield was 178 bu./acre with a high of 241 in Mitchell Co. and a low of 153 bu./acre in Grundy Co. The crop looked good but once the samples were pulled, it wasn’t what it appeared. It was somewhat surprising given the productive reputation of the area. A couple of the samples were corn on corn and that seldom helps a yield average. Plenty of moisture and the crop is far enough along so a frost should be immaterial. Just poor grain length due to the lack of rain and excessive heat at the wrong times.
On the SE MN part of our route, the pattern was much the same. The high was 226 bu./acre in Mower Co. with a low of 207 bu./acre in the same co. This wasn’t unexpected to see given the rainfall that ran along the I-90 corridor on numerous occasions over the course of the growing season. The heat that was evident farther south didn’t appear to be a factor either. When it got hot, the heatwaves were of short duration and nighttime temperatures cooled enough to allow plants to respire. Living to the west of this area about an hour, we were subject to the same patterns.
Our soybean pod counts lacked the consistency we’d encountered in IL the previous day. On the IA portion of the route today our 3’x3’ measurement averaged only 872 pods. The high was in Mitchell Co. at 1268 pods and the low was in Butler Co. with only 374 pods. Relative to the last 3 days sampling, this was disappointing. Some insects were present including Japanese beetles and blister beetles. In one field, the Japanese beetles were causing enough potential damage to be an economic threat.
The blister beetles were newcomers to Crop Tour this year. Blister beetles feed on soybean leaves and blossoms, mate and lay their eggs. The larvae hatch, then search out and feed upon grasshopper egg pods before going into winter dormancy. They are attracted to the border areas that grasshoppers frequent. Blister beetles can cause severe irritation of the digestive tracts in livestock so crop scouts are advised not to eat them. And you thought you wouldn’t learn anything new on Crop Tour!
On the MN side of the border, there was more optimism although we still had one clinker. Our range in the 3’x3’ went from a high of 1398 in Mower Co. with a low of 841 in Dodge Co. The route average was 1099, less than expected perhaps but with potential to maintain all the pods given the soil moisture present. Soybean maturity was late R5 to early R6 in some cases. Some SDS was spotted although its late appearance and again with ample moisture it should help minimize the impact.
For my 19th edition, I’d like to thank our sponsors for this year’s Crop Tour and to Brian Grete for allowing me to serve as Tour Consultant again this year. Running the two person crews and split routes has helped keep me from burning out. I was happy to see the international participants and the USDA personnel return again. It makes the experience that much better.
I’d also like to thank Jason Cari for driving on our route and putting up with all my weed, disease, and insect comments. Despite the long days, we made the best of them. I mean, who doesn’t like talking about the weather?