Corn and Soybean Yield Observations: The 2007 planting season started early with excellent weather and planting conditions. As the season progressed, rainfall was spotty and many areas of our region turned droughty. At harvest time, I observed that early maturity group soybeans, which have yielded well the past few seasons, were hurt the worst be the dry conditions. Most of these fields were in the low-to-mid 30 bu/acre. The longer season maturity groups showed increased yields. Fields were taller where they received a timely shower but even some of the dryer, shorter fields yielded well. Producers reported yields between 40 to 50 bushels per acre in areas that received some rainfall. Unfortunately, we had some regions that stayed dry and poorer yields resulted.
Corn followed a similar trend. Corn for silage was short and dried down more quickly than anticipated. However, yields surprised many producers and yield reductions were not as bad as expected. Corn for grain also was shorter than normal and many producers expected lower yields. Surprisingly, many producers are reporting 20 to 25 bushels higher than expected. I have done five corn contest entries in Ontario and Livingston Counties that yielded over 200 bushels per acre. In fact, in and around Livingston County there have been yield contest harvests of 235, 251, 260, and 272 bushels per acre. What a difference a little rain makes! Let’s hope we can recharge that groundwater reservoir this winter.
NY Grain Yields and Acreage from USDA: Soybean production in New York is forecast at 7.51 million bushels. Acreage harvested for beans is expected to total 203 thousand acres, up 2 percent from a year earlier and the largest acreage on record. Yields are expected to average 37 bushels per acre, down 9 bushels from 2006. U.S. soybean production is forecast at 2.59 billion bushels.
New York grain corn production is forecast at 66.4 million bushels, up 7 percent from last year's output, according to Stephen Ropel, Director of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office. Production is up due to increases in the number of acres harvested. Acreage for harvest is expected to total 540 thousand acres, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Yields are expected to average 123 bushels per acre, 6 bushels less than in 2006.
Soybean Green Stem at Harvest? Jim Beuerlein of Ohio State University recently gave a good explanation of why there were so many greenstem soybeans this year. “Normally, the soybean crop dies as the result of poorly functioning root systems that are unable to deliver the needed water and nutrients late into the grain filling period. The result of poorly functioning root systems is digestion of leaves and stems to complete pod fill, causing the leaves to turn yellow and fall to the ground. The same action causes the stems to dry and become rigid. When plants are able to produce seeds of adequate size for the next growing season without the digestion of the plant leaves and stems, those structures stay green until water movement from the root stops completely or until they are killed by frost”.
I noticed this situation throughout the region. The problem was that the greenstem plants had grain that was the same moisture as the rest of the field without green stem. I saw many combined fields that had sections of plants with green stems left standing to combine at a later date. It’s hard to get much accomplished combining at 2 miles an hour! In most circumstances, these fields were podded well to the top and yielded very well. The real killing freeze did not happen until November in most of the area.
New World Record Soybean Yield: Kip Cullers of Purdy, Mo., outdid himself by growing an astounding 154.7 bushels of soybeans per acre, beating his own world record established last year with 139.4 bushels per acre. Kip’s record-breaking crop was produced on an irrigated and conventionally-tilled field near Stark City, Mo. Cullers attributes an intensive plant management program to his success. Planting seed with a high yield potential and protecting his plants with fungicide applications were the two biggest reasons for his success last year. In 2007, he added a soybean growth promoter, to dramatically improve root size and a new twin-row planter for more precise seed placement.
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