I-80 Harvest Tour: South Dakota is a Tale of Two Crops

The harvest is at near record pace in South Dakota with 82% of the soybeans and 44% of the corn out of the field.  Farmers have been helped by dry weather, but there's also fewer bushels to handle in areas hit by drought.    So, in South Dakota the harvest is a tale of two crops with big differences in moisture from North to South. 

In the northeast many farmers had excess moisture this spring and took prevent plant on some acres, the exception was Chad Schooley who farms near Castlewood.  ” You know we had a good start this spring, we were lucky right here.  We got in on time."  Rains through July benefitted his corn and even with the heat yields are only down slightly from farm averages.  “We’re probably going to be in the 175 to 180.  We’d like to see closer to 200, so about 10% off.”  And the quality of the corn is good with test weights in the upper 50s. 

However, he ran out of moisture in August which hurt his early beans. Schooley says, “The better beans are 50 to 60 but our early beans were you know 20, 30 a lot of 40s.  So I’m hoping to average in the 40s.”  

A little farther south, Astoria farmer David Iverson’s soybeans are short but yields in the 40s and 50s will exceed 2021.   “We had more rain this year on most of our fields, so I think our yields are going to be better than last year.”   And his corn crop is right on his APH or Average Production History.   "Our goal is for 200 bushel corn in our area and I think we’ll be in that neighborhood.” 

Toronto producer Jesse King farms near Iverson and says surprisingly he’s getting average to above soybean yields.  “On the lighter ground high 40s, this field here was mid-50s, we had a 60.”  

But in the southeast farmers were hit by drought conditions similar to 2012.  Doug Hanson farms near Elk Point and says, “We were 11.5 inches behind normal for the growing season, and that's pretty significant...it's nearly half of normal."  

And as a result, Tim Ostrem's dryland corn yields are half of normal.    The Centerville farmer says, “Its really a tough year, really no rain really at all so, this field right here that we’re in is going 90 and this is a little bit lighter soil."  His bean yields were also disappointing running on either side of 30 bushels per acre.  Ostrem says, “And all the beans are very short.  I mean the yields are not going to be very good in our part of the state.”  

Overall in South Dakota it doesn’t look the north will make up for the south.   Iverson says, “I don’t see that I think if north if we’re average or some places a little above average but if the south is pretty much below average.  I think overall we’ll be down some.” 

Fortunately, basis levels and cash grain prices have stayed strong to offset losses.  King says, “Prices right now are you know are some of the highest prices that I’ve sold in my farming career so far.”  

Schooley adds, “There’s $6.50 corn going to town.  So, at 180 bushel corn we’ll still be around the same money.”