Happy Friday! Short update this week as crops continue with grain fill.
August 14, 2020 Update:
Soybeans (114 days)
I remembered my 4-foot measuring stick this week and was surprised to find that the soybeans are closing in on 3.5 feet tall! The soybean field was more difficult to walk through this week as the soybeans are taller and the wind from Monday’s storm tangled the branches of the plants so I lost my nice, neat paths between rows. Fortunately, we didn’t have anything near what Iowa and northern Illinois had for wind with the derecho, so considering ourselves lucky.
See all of the thin branches here? Easy to tangle.
The pods on each soybean plant go all the way to the top, which tells me that the field is maturing.
Here’s what the inside of a pod from the lower part of a plant looks like. The beans are almost full size here, but still pretty small towards the top of the plant where the pods are newer.
You can see where there’s not much definition between the rows anymore in this photo.
And the weekly pretty sunset photo. 🙂
Corn (93 days)
The corn is looking pretty good right now.
Nice, plump ears growing on every stalk.
And kernels filling out all the way to the tip of the ear! Several stalks seem to still think they might be able to support a second ear, but I expect them to either abort them or not put very many kernels into each one in favor of supporting this main first ear. We prefer one really good ear rather than two not-so-great ears.
I mentioned earlier that we are really fortunate to not have had very much wind on Monday, like those who experienced the derecho got. At this point in the season, the corn is more susceptible to strong winds than the soybeans would be simply because of height. The worry with really, really strong winds (we’re talking 80-100+ MPH here) is that the corn will flatten. The worst thing that could happen is green snap, or where the stalk actually snaps as the wind takes it down. At that point, the plant is done growing for the season and yield is lost. Sure, crop insurance will cover some of it, but not all of it. And with the low prices we’re seeing this year, farmers could really use all of the grain they can produce.
Sometimes you get lucky and the wind just bends the stalk over, which some call goosenecked corn. These plants are still intact and the ear will still fill and mature in most cases, but now the stalk is unstable and fragile. Harvest will be more difficult because the corn is likely laying across rows. It’ll also be important for those farmers to get into the field to harvest as soon as possible this fall before the stalks dry out too much and begin to deteriorate. There is likely reduction in yield in this situation, but most of the crop is probably still salvageable.
Now imagine this happens to 10,000,000 acres, which they estimate is the amount impacted this week. It’s a big loss for a lot of farmers. And that’s why the derecho was so devastating, besides the loss of power, destruction of trees and buildings and grain bins (many which likely had some of last year’s crop still in them, only increasing the loss), among other damages.
Sorry to end on such a heavy note, but I am very grateful we did not experience that here in central Illinois. Back with another update next week!
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