Preharvest Crop Shots: Variable Late Progress

After much of the growing season was near-perfect in some areas, there have been some crop challenges lately that have stressed corn and beans and led some farmers to fear the top end's been taking off their yield potential. Go on a quick road trip here!

This field, shot by Agriculture.com Marketing Talk esteemed advisor and member Hobbyfarmer, shows some corn damage from recent storms and high winds. "What did not come out was the picture over the top of all the green snap," he says of the field in west-central Iowa. The area's soybeans are turning, with lightly filled pods, he adds.

This field hasn't had much of a chance this year. "There's always next year," says Marketing Talk veteran contributor and southern Minnesota farmer mnvtfarm.

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This picture's from one of Marketing Talk senior contributor BF2012's fields where the south-central Illinois farmer flew his UAS, or drone, to check his field conditions. "Notice the corn fields where water stood early and plants are already dead, rest of field just at black layer. Beans are starting to mature with plenty of lodging," he says.

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Here's Marketing Talk veteran advisor Shaggy98's sorghum field in central Kansas. The crop's looking okay for this time of the year, and the changing colors show it's getting near harvest.

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Here's a field of soybeans in east-central Indiana, where Marketing Talk senior advisor ECIN said in early September that farmers would be harvesting fields like these by the middle of the month.

Not all fields are like that in ECIN's area, though. Here is what he says is his earliest-planted soybean field. This one, as well as others planted around the same timeframe (early May) will need some more development/drydown time before the combines roll.

Here's a closer shot of one of ECIN's soybean fields, this one planted May 14, he says.

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Hobbyfarmer took to the sky to snap a few shots of some of the damage recent stormy weather's done to fields in his area. Amidst wind turbines being constructed, the corn fields are definitely showing damage in southwest Iowa. "A picture of some of that 200-bushel corn...mostly harvested by the wind 10 days ago," he says.

Though this is a severe example, there are spots around the Corn Belt like this one where the recent rash of rainfall has inundated once-productive fields and zapped yield potential. "Saw some great crops, but many more that are going to disappoint the owners and then the bankers. Crop insurance adjusters are going to be way busier than first thought," Hobbyfarmer says.

"I bet it looks better from the road," Hobbyfarmer adds of these fields that from the air show inconsistent coloring indicative of moisture extremes and/or disease pressure.

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Marketing Talk senior contributor lsc76cat took stock of his corn and soybeans recently. The first photo here shows just how much of a discrepancy there is among fields planted early or late, as well as the quality differences between early-May planted fields and those sown a month later.

"The 2 bean plants on the left are the .8s planted July 5; others were planted mid-May," lsc76cat says of these plants.

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Though the plants here have plenty of pods, snapping them open shows the real concern for lsc76cat and likely many other farmers in his shoes. "Replanted fields caught up in height, flowered well and set pods nicely," he says. "But...kind of flat!"

"They sure look nice from the road but obviously need some time. Only so many hours each day now that are warm enough to help," Temperatures in lsc76cat's area could dip into frost territory later this week, forecasters say.

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Lsc76cat's corn is just as far behind as his soybeans, due largely to a late planting date after a damp, cool spring. "Hasn't quite reached full maturity yet. Too cool & wet early in the season," he says. "Very little corn in our area was planted before this was; most of it about 2 weeks later.

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