I-80 Harvest Tour: Lingering Drought in South Dakota Produces Disappointing Soybean Yields but Surprises in Corn

Farmers in South Dakota made good progress on harvest last week, despite the rain.  Corn harvest is 37% done, 4-points ahead of normal, with 72% of the soybeans harvested, 13% ahead of average.  Lingering drought in the state has produced some mixed harvest results.

It’s a tale of two crops in South Dakota with corn yields exceeding expectations while soybeans missed those late season rains and have been overall disappointing. 

Kevin Scott and his son Jordan farm near Valley Springs, South Dakota, just east of Sioux Falls.  Kevin says they were hit by heat and drought including in August when soybean yields are set.  "The drought really hasn’t affected us much but this year we got hit and it’s a lot drier than I’m used to so yes I’m quite disappointed in what we have."   

Jordan says the crop was under stress most of the season.  "The summer was pretty hot, pretty windy and you can see it in the yield monitor."

Insect and disease pressure was also a problem late in the season.  "We had some pests come in late, some gall midge on our edges some spider mites out in the fields."  

And so they’re harvesting soybeans that are below their farm average and well below 2022 according to Jordan.  "Last year we had record yields, the weather was just perfect in our area we were in the 70s.  This year we’re in the 50s so almost a 20-bushel difference."

Despite the Scott’s harvest results, USDA has statewide soybean yields at 43 bushels per acre, which is 5 bushels above last year with drought not as widespread. 

Kevin Scott says, "South and west was really dry last year and so they might be accurate on that.  Yes, we probably have more than last year."

In contrast, corn yields in much of South Dakota have been better than expected especially with the limited moisture.     

Chad Schooley says precipitation was below normal for the season on his farm at Castlewood in the northeastern part of the state.  "Our rainfall. We were probably short about five or eight inches from average.   So that definitely hurt us."  

Plus, he says the heat also trimmed top end yield potential.  "A lot of short ears and where we’re going probably the first part of the week, I’m going to run into some fields that have really bad tip back.  That July heat it was tough on it."  

However, the quality of the corn is excellent and his overall corn yields are still running very close to his farm averages.  Schooley says, "Either side of 200 is going to catch a lot of it.  I hope to put a 2 in front of the average but there's a lot of acres to go over to get there."  

Schooley attributes that performance to the timing of the rain and the drought tolerance of today’s corn hybrids.  "The genetics that we’ve got going must be amazing because back when I started farming with that much rain we wouldn’t have had much of a crop."

USDA is pegging corn yields in South Dakota at 147 bushels per acre which is 15 bushels above last year’s statewide average.  And from early harvest reports that seems achievable.