Harvest

Farmers Face Budget Squeeze And Balance Sheet Challenges—Echoes Of A Decade Ago

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 21:13:24 GMT

If heading into 2026 feels a little like déjà vu, you’re picking up the same vibes Chris Barron, president and CEO of Iowa-based Ag View Solutions, is experiencing. He believes the next couple of years will echo the last big downturn farmers weathered a decade ago.

“It’s kind of scary that 2025, ’26 and ’27 look essentially like a repeat of 2015, ’16 and ’17,” Barron says. “If you remember that time frame and made it through, buckle down because I think we’re going there again.”

He says one of the clearest signals farmers are about to experience a repeat of a decade ago is based on the 2026 cost-of-production data from Ag View Solutions’ clients, who are based in 23 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces:

Soybeans: About $11.87 per bushel based on a 65-bu. average yield
Corn: About $4.69 per bushel (before basis) on a 223-bu. average, with many growers needing at least $4.85.

Some growers raising non-GMO seed beans or getting premium contracts can still make soybeans compete. But for many farms, soybeans are the weak link in the current economic cycle.

Right now, Ag View Solutions clients are expected to plant roughly 62% of their acres to corn and 38% to soybeans for 2026 — essentially the same as 2025. Barron says he doesn’t expect many acres to shift away from this mix to more soybeans “unless something really changes.”

Given current price relationships and crop insurance guarantees, Ag View Solutions data shows about a $50-per-acre advantage to corn over soybeans for the year ahead. Even if the dollars trend lower, he says corn often pencils out better because of gross revenue and risk management tools.

More Cost Pressures Heading Into 2026

It’s no secret production costs are increasing heading into the next season. Some of the key factors include:

Overhead costs (what Barron calls ‘”return to management”) for family and employee expenses, including phones, fuel and business-paid personal expenses, are up nearly 5%. After the past year or two of what Barron describes as hard belt-tightening, he says deferred spending is “snapping back” at higher levels.

Land rents are holding mostly steady, supported by higher property taxes and outside investor demand.

Interest expense is climbing as operating lines grow.

Fertilizer costs are a mixed bag. On corn, fertilizer costs are up about 7%, even though Barron believes most farms are staying with removal-rate applications. On soybeans, he says fertility costs will be lower, mainly because growers are putting less fertilizer on their bean acres and leaning harder on corn nutrients.

Machinery and equipment costs are also inching higher for the year ahead.

This Is Not A Repeat Of The 1980s

Despite the “red” many farmers will see on their spreadsheets in the year ahead, Barron says the current period is not a repeat of the 1980s farm crisis, for two key reasons:

Farmer equity is strong. Debt-to-asset ratios remain healthy for many U.S. growers, even if cash is tight.
Many farmer exits are voluntary. Today, many farmers are choosing to retire or scale back in order to protect equity.

Barron offers a recent example: “I got a call the other day on 7,000 acres, a 45-year-old farmer saying, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore. I’ve got a $5 million equity position, and I’m not going to go for a couple more years and chew away another million dollars. I’m just going to be done.’”

Strategies for the Current Climate

To survive — and potentially thrive — in this “repeat” cycle, Barron suggests focusing on these four areas in the year ahead:

Do the high-dollar work. Barron says the “$500-an-hour” work is crunching numbers in the farm office. “Know your true costs, stress-test budgets, analyze each profit center. A few hours spent with good numbers can be worth far more than another round in the tractor,” he says.
Protect yield. He advises against cutting seed, chemistry or other inputs that protect or enhance yield “just to save a few cents per bushel.”
Right-size your operation. Barron says some of the most successful turnarounds he’s seen with operations lately have come when farmers “right-sizes” — they’re doing less, but doing it better — instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
Use collaborative models. Barron says he is seeing more farmers share equipment and labor with their neighbors to spread fixed costs without extra capital.

Opportunity Will Still Knock

During a Top Producer podcast, Barron told Host Paul Neiffer that the tight times ahead will create new land-rent opportunities for some farmers who want to expand. What commonly happens when margins get tight is some farmers pull back, and that’s when expansion possibilities open up for others.

“We’ve had numerous clients call us about opportunities to rent land and not like in small amounts. When times are tight and when things aren’t good, that’s when these opportunities present themselves,” he says.

Barron’s message for those farmers in expansion mode: have your numbers, working capital and lender relationships in order now, so if the right block of ground comes available, you can move quickly and confidently on it.

If you’re interested in the ROI spreadsheet Barron’s team uses to analyze market trends, email cbarron@agviewsolutions.com .

Hear the complete discussion between Barron and Flory on Farm Journal TV . Also, you can listen to the Top Producer podcast discussion between Barron and Neiffer at the link below:

Beyond Bushels: Align High-Yield Strategies With Your Crop Budget

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 20:31:39 GMT

A practical crop budget can serve as a valuable farming playbook, offering essential direction and guidance from planting through harvest, according to farmers and business partners David Hula and Randy Dowdy.

“Return on Investment (ROI) is the primary focus for the year ahead,” says Dowdy, who farms near Valdosta, Ga. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to survive this lean time, because we don’t have $8 corn or $15 beans.”

Start The Season Strong

For Hula, the strategy for achieving both high yields and ROI begins with selecting the right hybrids and using excellent planting practices, followed by consistent nutrition.

“You want to feel optimistic that you’re going to have high yield potential starting out,” he says. “Then, you need to make sure the crop has all the groceries it needs, because if it runs out of juice at any one time, you’ve just hit the minus button.”

Power Of Finishing The Crop

Hula highlights that another critical component of maximizing ROI, even in current tight markets, is finishing the crop well.

He shares that despite having a challenging growing season this year, his dryland acres achieved their third-best farmgate average. He attributes that to ensuring the crop received the necessary resources late in the season, especially a fungicide application.

“We felt pretty confident [the crop] was going to deliver... and that was mostly because we finished it well. We were picking 66.7 to 67 pounds test weight corn at harvest,” reports Hula, who is based near Charles City, Va.

“Finishing the crop is by far where a lot of people leave a lot of yield on the table,” adds Dowdy.

Use ‘Bushels’ To Track Costs

The current market outlook for 2026 necessitates a sharp focus on expense management, Dowdy notes.

“Obviously servicing debt is still on everybody’s mind. A farmer should never cut out anything that he or she knows makes money. But the problem is sometimes they don’t always know what that is,” he says.

When planning the budget, Hula urges growers to shift their perspective away from the cost of the input and toward the bushel return needed to justify it.

He offers, as an example: “For me to do in-furrow, that requires seven bushels. If I’m not going to get a seven-bushel return per acre, I’m not going to do it.”

Hula believes the bushel ROI mindset should be applied to all inputs. By framing decisions in terms of bushels rather than dollars, he says growers can more easily see the economic impact of each investment they make.

Make Every Input Pay Its Way

Hula and Dowdy are spending significant time this winter consulting with growers on budget strategies through their business, Total Acre . In many cases, they are stressing the importance of refining in-season input applications to make them more efficient, rather than cutting them completely.

“We can keep some of the in-season applications and make them more efficient by placement,” Dowdy says. “The goal is not merely to cut costs, but to find better, more efficient ways to invest money that directly leads to a higher ROI.”

Dowdy and Hula discuss their budgeting recommendations in more detail in their latest Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast discussion on Farm Journal TV and YouTube via the link here:

You can also hear Hula and Dowdy’s latest discussion on AgriTalk here:

Unpacking the Disappointment: 5 Reasons Some Iowa Growers Had Ho-Hum Corn Yields

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 22:44:33 GMT

A growing season that started with tremendous potential in east-central Iowa finished with yield results that left many growers in the area disappointed by average or below-average results, according to Agronomist Nicole Stecklein.

Stecklein details five key factors she believes contributed to disappointing 2025 yield results. Here are her key takeaways from this season as well as some recommendations for 2026.

1. A ‘planting date effect’ occurred: Stecklein says she is an early-plant advocate and likes to see farmers start planting when the soil is fit and a good weather forecast is in the cards.

“In eight years out of 10 years, that usually turns out pretty good. In a lot of cases, the early planted corn will be your best corn, but that wasn’t the case this year,” she says.

Early-planted corn, particularly those hybrids in early to mid-maturities, generally underperformed.

Stecklein identified two main culprits. First, there was considerable localized soil crusting. Even with rotary hoeing, significant variability in ear development and inconsistent pollination impacted the crop and contributed to yield loss.

A second culprit was that the earlier planted corn seemed to bear the brunt of later-season stresses, particularly from disease issues, heavy moisture and above-average temperatures.

Too much rain and disease were problems for Ward Hunter, Ogden, Iowa, especially southern rust. He told U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan that his early corn hybrid yields were disappointing, coming in at around 220 bu. per acre, even though he applied a fungicide.

“We were at about our APH,” he says. “If it hadn’t been for disease pressure, I think we could have been in the 270s or so [with early maturing hybrids] here in central Iowa.”

FBN Poll Results: This week's poll, with over 1,700 responses, shows 50% of participating FBN members seeing corn yields below expectations. Review the full results and share your thoughts: https://t.co/37lji8uYSc #farmersfirst #harvest25 #corn pic.twitter.com/LoijKZGnJ5
— FBN (@FBNFarmers) October 31, 2025

For farmers wondering if they should move to later planting dates across the baord in 2026, Stecklein says probably not. Instead, she says to continue to evaluate soils and weather conditions at planting.

Ken Ferrie offers similar advice to farmers in central Iowa and central Illinois. “My advice for farmers is if we have a green light in April, plant some corn,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

However, Ferrie says farmers shouldn’t be afraid to wait until May to get a green light from Mother Nature to start the planting process.

“We never know how the rest of the year will play out. So, breaking the planting window up is a good way to mitigate risk and take the jam out of the fall of having everything ready at the same time,” he explains.

2. High winds were a blow to corn performance: June brought a series of severe high-wind events to large swaths of east-central Iowa.

The damage manifested in root lodging, green snap, and willowing. Corn that had already tasseled before the winds hit fared better, thanks to better developed root systems and brace roots, Stecklein reports.

Conversely, corn that had not yet tasseled suffered the most severe root lodging and green snap, as its rapidly growing, brittle nodes were highly susceptible.

Willowing, which occurs where corn plants bend at the waist, proved to be a stealthy yield robber this summer. The stress from bending, particularly around the developing ear node, led to poorly pollinated ears with short husks, leaving grain exposed to elements, birds and disease, significantly impacting quality and yield.

Tons of sub 150 corn in our area. Harrison and Pottawattamie county Iowa. Too much wind/greensnap and too much diesese. It’s the crop that never was.
— Brandon Clark (@clarkbrandon44) November 3, 2025

While wind is an unavoidable reality across the state, Stecklein would advise farmers in consistently windy areas to consider prioritizing root and green snap scores when selecting hybrids for 2026.

“This is not a foolproof way to get around the wind. It’s just knowing that some hybrids have a lower possibility of getting hit by wind in a window when they’re vulnerable, because all corn is vulnerable. The wind is all about timing. But if you shorten that window, then you’re decreasing the chances that you’ll get hit at a vulnerable time,” she explains.

3. Heat took a bite out of yield potential. Another major factor impacting 2025 yields in east-central Iowa was the pervasive overnight heat during grain fill, specifically in July and August.

Stecklein says the general rule of thumb is for each night during grain fill that temperatures stay at 70 degrees Fahrenheit or above, your corn crop will experience about a 1% yield loss in each 24-hour period.

What happens is the result of a lack of equilibrium between the process of photosynthesis during the day and then respiration at night.

“During the day, the plant is taking sunlight and carbon dioxide and making sugars. It’s creating energy,” Stecklein explains. “Overnight, you have respiration occurring. Respiration is using energy to repair cells, And the rate of these processes is very temperature dependent.”

When nighttime temperatures remain high, the rate of respiration dramatically increases. This means the plant burns through its energy reserves much faster.

Stecklein says that in July and August, parts of east-central Iowa had 15 nights that stayed at 70 degrees or greater.

“If you’re good at math, that means a 15% yield loss. If you had 300 bushels to lose at tassel, that brings you straight down to 255, bushels, just based on overnight temperatures,” she says.

4. Disease pressure reached unprecedented levels for some farmers. The big gorilla this season was southern rust, which took most Iowa farmers by surprise.

”Southern rust is the one that everybody is talking about, because it’s so aggressive and because, honestly, in Iowa, we were not prepared for how aggressive it was going to be,” Stecklein says.

Unlike tar spot, southern rust is not a disease that overwinters in residue. It must “blow in” from the South, and it also needs corn to infect to complete its life cycle. For those reasons, Stecklein would advise Iowa farmers to not make hybrid decisions for next year based on concerns for southern rust.

However, she would advise them to take tar spot into consideration as they evaluate which hybrids to plant in 2026.

“If you are going to spray [a fungicide], you’re going to be OK if you do choose a hybrid that’s susceptible, because there are some very good hybrids out there that aren’t super tolerant to tar spot. Make sure that you’re planning on at least making one fungicide pass at tassel. But if you will not spray two passes of fungicide, do not choose a hybrid that has a very poor tar spot rating, because if we get the weather that’s very conducive to tar spot, you’re going to lose some bushels,” she adds.

5. Phantom yield loss showed up at harvest. Based on phantom yield loss data, Stecklein says there’s about 2 bushels lost per percent of moisture. How that translates into a yield loss: if you like to harvest at 22% moisture but the crop is at 16% moisture when you finally combine it, you’re looking at a loss of 12 bushels per acre.

If you find yourself consistently harvesting corn at a drier level than you want, Stecklein would say it’s time to adjust your hybrid maturities. If phantom yield loss isn’t a consistent issue you face, then you’re probably OK to stick with your current maturities.

Her final advice for 2026: “I keep wanting to say that every year I learn something unique, but at the end of the day, my key takeaways from every year have almost always been the same: if you plan for failure and if you give up, you’re going to be met with failure. However, if you are persistent through hardships and manage according to those hardships, you’re setting yourself up for success.”

Watch Stecklein’s recent video, Corn 2025: What happened , for more insights on the east-central Iowa corn results.

Is It Time To Stop Planting Corn In April?

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:04:31 GMT

Planting corn later – as in May versus April – has resulted in higher yields for some central Illinois growers the past three years in a row. Each time, May-planted corn edged out the yields of the April plantings because of moisture availability. With that frustration top of mind, one Illinois corn grower asked Ken Ferrie this week whether it’s time to throw in the towel on planting corn in April.

“My advice for farmers here in central Illinois is if we have a green light in April, plant some corn,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, who’s based just south of Bloomington.

However, Ferrie says Illinois farmers shouldn’t be afraid to wait until May to get a green light from Mother Nature to start the planting process.
“We never know how the rest of the year will play out. So, breaking the planting window up is a good way to mitigate risk and take the jam out of the fall of having everything ready at the same time,” he explains.

What Happens At Pollination Time Is Huge
A case in point is one hybrid that Ferrie and team planted on April 28 and again on May 7 in a Farm Journal large-scale test plot this year.
The corn planted on April 28 ended up getting caught trying to pollinate during a three-and-a-half day stretch of foggy weather.

“It was only about 50% pollinated when the fog came in, and we sat four days without dropping pollen,” Ferrie recalls. “Once it dried up, we got pollinated, but we had half an ear on the bottom that was yellow and the top half was white. The top half aborted hard, as it always does.”

When doing yield estimates for the April 28 planting, Ferrie anticipated harvesting between 215 and 220 bushels per acre. Surprisingly, the hybrid delivered a 241-bushel-per-acre average.

He attributes the better than anticipated yield result to the hybrid being a D hybrid – one that increases yield late season by packing on starch during grain fill. Increasingly, Ferrie notes, seed companies are producing more D-type hybrids.

“I knew from our hand harvest plots that it could produce 57,000 kernels per bushel, but that’s still a lot of kernel fill, especially compared to how ugly the tip back looked,” he says.

What Ferrie didn’t anticipate is how much better that specific hybrid would perform yield-wise in a field planted on May 7 – just nine days after the April 28 planting.

“It had a 263-bushel per acre average. I was no longer happy with my 241 performance, once I found out the May 7 corn was 22 bushels better,” Ferrie laughs.

He attributes the difference in how that hybrid performed to the fog that impacted pollination negatively in the April 28 field.

“But it took field scouting to explain what went on in this plot. Without scouting, we’d have blamed the yield loss on the April planting date. This plot is a good example of why you don’t want all your eggs in one basket when it comes to pollination,” Ferrie says.

Soybeans Are A Different Story Altogether
Soybean yields in Illinois continue to show a strong positive correlation with earlier planting dates, Ferrie reports.

Early planting allows soybeans to take advantage of the long days leading up to the summer solstice by extending their vegetative growth and triggering earlier reproductive stages. This leads to more robust plants, increased pods and seeds per plant, and ultimately, higher yields – barring a hard frost, which is always a risk.

Data from 2025 Farm Journal test plots revealed that soybeans planted on April 14 achieved 101 bushels per acre, significantly outperforming those planted on May 13 (84 bushels) and May 29 (81 bushels).

Poor Fungicide Applications Play Havoc With Yield Results
Farmers have been sending Ferrie pictures of fungicide streaking in their corn crops where the fungicide was sprayed by air. In some cases, the fields were sprayed twice by air. That issue was caused by not keeping a tight spray pattern during the application process.

“Guys are seeing 20- to 40-bushel swings in these skips,” Ferrie says.

He encourages operators who see fungicide streaks to make notes of their location, because they will likely come up during yield map meetings this winter and potentially cause confusion.

“Fungicide streaks and pollination issues can create some wild swings from field to field, or even within a plot in the same field, that’ll leave you scratching your head this winter without some timely ground truthing from your field scouts,” Ferrie says.

Farm Journal Survey Signals 2025 National Corn Yield Could Fall Short of 2024

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 17:58:55 GMT

The government shutdown and resulting absence of data from USDA has left a void in the volatile grain and oilseed markets. To fill the gap, Farm Journal conducted a survey to get an update on yields and harvest progress as well as other important topics on producers’ minds.

Based on more than 1,100 qualified responses from across the U.S., the biggest takeaway is that corn yields are estimated to be down compared with USDA’s September estimates in six of the seven Pro Farmer Crop Tour states. Due to disease pressure and dryness, the 2025 national corn yield could be lower than the 2024 average of 179.3 bu.

(Farm Journal)

As of mid-October, yields are steady or lower for 74% of the respondents across the Crop Tour states, a far cry from higher production estimates for each state in USDA’s September Crop Production Report, says Lane Akre, Pro Farmer economist. Traders and analysts saw production falling from the September USDA estimate of 186.7 bu. per acre to 185 bu., according to a pre-report poll from Bloomberg in early October. If production does shrink, as the Farm Journal survey indicates, the national average yield could fall to 178.5 bu. per acre.

When compared to 2024, the Farm Journal survey shows the biggest yield decline in the “I” states:

Illinois at 7%
Indiana at 4.6%
Iowa at 3.2%

On the other hand, Minnesota at 3.8% and South Dakota at 3.3% are seeing yields come in higher than last season.

Soybean Harvest Progress Well Ahead of Corn
Corn harvest progress is on par with other private estimates at 43% on Oct. 15.

(Farm Journal)

Soybean harvest is well ahead at 79% due to dry conditions.

“While we aren’t getting the weekly crop progress reports, they are still calling and the analyst average this week was 60%,” Akre says.

(Farm Journal)

Storage Issues Especially Challenging in Northern Plains
Just over a third of all respondents in Farm Journal’s survey noted storage concerns as many producers are opting to store grain rather than take it to market. Storage issues are more prevalent in the northern Plains, with 56% of producers in South Dakota saying they are facing issues.

(Farm Journal)

With China absent from the export market and soybean yields strong, basis levels in the northwestern Corn Belt have widened to levels not seen since the 2018 trade war. Storage piles are already stacking up at local elevators.

“We’re just a week into harvest and already seeing more piles than we have seen in years past,” says Kevin Deinert, a farmer from Mount Vernon, S.D. “If you look at total production and total storage capacity, we’re going to exceed our storage capacity by a considerable amount.”

Typically, farmers in the Dakotas sell soybeans right off the combine, but this year many are holding onto their crop, hoping for better prices down the road.

“The basis on corn is not great either, but it’s exceptionally bad on soybeans,” explains Todd Hanten of Goodwin, S.D. “I’m going to store it all and try to capture some better basis in the future.”

David Struck, a farmer from Wolsey, S.D., is also storing beans with the hope come January and February, he’ll be able to move them and get a better price.

Based on CoBank estimates, the nation will be short 73 million bushels of upright grain storage this year, a dramatic shift from last year’s surplus.

“When you pull out to the 12 major corn-producing states, and that includes soybeans, we’re going to be short by about 1.4 billion bushels of storage capacity,” says Tanner Ehmke, CoBank’s grain and oilseeds economist. “Last year, we were long by about 360 million bushels.”

Farmers Still Support Tariffs
Despite the ongoing trade war with China, which has weighed heavily on row-crop prices, more than 60% of respondents say they support tariffs. Many are hopeful that aggressive trade policies will pay dividends once it is all said and done.

(Farm Journal)

Green Stem Syndrome Poses Tough Harvest Choices for Soybean Growers

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 18:10:17 GMT

Soybean growers have been calling Ben Pieper the past couple of weeks, telling him how tough their bean crop is to cut this harvest. The problem many are citing – green stem syndrome.

“I’ll have somebody in Iowa tell me that ‘these are the best beans I’ve ever had on the farm, and they cut beautifully, and are absolutely phenomenal,’” says Pieper, an agronomist for Merschman Seeds. “Then, with the same exact bean two hours to the east, the growers are dissatisfied with them, saying they cut hard, and aren’t yielding quite as high as maybe a different bean that we have in the lineup.”

University of Minnesota Extension notes green stem syndrome is a tricky issue for agronomists and growers to address, as the exact cause is unknown. That makes the problem difficult to prevent or address effectively in-season, and impacts harvest decisions.

Taylor Dill says the disorder contributes to a delay in crop senescence (maturation) of plant stems while pods and seeds mature and ripen normally – a so-called “source to sink” issue in the plant.

How this problem develops: Stems and leaves (the sources) typically send nutrients to the pods and beans (the sinks). But when stress reduces pod or bean development or causes them to abort, the nutrients and moisture get stuck in the stems and don’t get allocated well. That keeps the stems green even after the beans are ready to harvest, explains Dill, a PhD student at Ohio State University, in a video .

Two Basic Options For Soybean Harvest
While green stem syndrome might not contribute to direct yield losses, harvesting affected soybeans turns into a slow, hard slog for growers, contributing to increased fuel and harvesting equipment maintenance costs.

Farmers with fields impacted by the syndrome have two basic options at harvest, according to Shaun Casteel, Purdue Extension soybean specialist, on the latest episode of the Purdue Crop Chat podcast .

One option is to go ahead and harvest the beans when the grain quality is likely at at its best.

The downside, says Casteel, “We have the nasty combination of around 9% to 10% moisture in beans with green stems and have to slow down the harvest.”

The tough going in fields means you’re likely to use more fuel and put extra wear and tear on the combine.

Your second option is to wait until a freeze and the stems turn brown before harvesting. The downside? You might lose a fair amount of yield.

“I’ve seen this week where we had some early beans where the pods are opening up and the seeds just shattered,” Casteel says. “It’s just a mechanism of survival because [the pod is] trying to save itself. If your fields weren’t ready yet, that’s probably not going to be the case, but if we catch another cycle of rain, or we get into these two to three cycles of wet-dry, wet-dry, that pod really gets to the point of shattering in the field before the combine even gets there.”

Mark Licht, Extension cropping systems specialist at Iowa State University encourages growers to harvest when soybeans have a good moisture content, despite the tough conditions.

“Make sure the sickle bar on the combine is sharp and well-maintained,” he says, in an online article . “Slower harvest speeds will be needed to account for more soybean biomass coming through the combine.”

A poll by Reuters estimated 58% of U.S. soybeans had been harvested as of Sunday, Oct. 12.

Some soybean varieties might be at more risk than others to green stem syndrome.

(Soybean Research & Information Network)

What Factors Contributed To The Syndrome This Season?
Pieper, citing University of Minnesota research, says there are a lot of theories about the causal effects of green stem syndrome — everything from plant viruses, low soil moisture, and potassium deficiency, to high plant populations, genetic mutations and insect damage.

He says he believes many of those issues are factors and that heavy stink bug feeding has been another significant contributor to the problem this year.

“There is a crap ton of stink bugs and grasshoppers and insects in the chaff,” says Pieper who has observed the pests’ impact on soybean crops while doing yield checks.

Environmental stressors, drought in particular, were another contributing factor this season in Ohio soybeans, adds Dill.

Farmers often ask agronomists whether fungicide use is involved in the development of green stem syndrome.

Ohio State Extension reports certain modes of action can have a “stay green” effect on soybeans that can delay senescence and can be confused or contribute to green stem.

Pieper and his colleagues might be on the fence with that finding. They note in their podcast, Cup Of Joe , that fungicides contributed to soybean yield benefits this year – especially on marginal ground – with increases of 7 to 10 bushels per acre in some cases.

Bottom line, there are conflicting views regarding the role of fungicides in the disorder and more research is needed to pin down a definitive answer.

Your next read: New Seed Treatment Offers A Solution to Soybean Cyst Nematode

No More Waiting: Operator-Free Grain Cart System Improves Harvest Efficiency

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:49:16 GMT

At first blush, the benefits promised by new autonomous retrofit grain cart system, OutRun, seemed too good to be true to Ken Ferrie and his agronomic team.

The system, now commercially available, promises to help farmers increase harvest efficiencies while reducing labor needs in the process.

Ferrie and team’s skepticism quickly turned to appreciation as they put the system to work harvesting large-scale Farm Journal Test Plots in central Illinois.

“Once it’s in the field, it’s kind of like a dog with a shock collar,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “It can’t leave the field, meaning that there’s a GPS fence around that field that keeps it from leaving that defined area.”

OutRun, developed by PTx Trimble (formed by AGCO and Trimble), enables a tractor and auger cart to team up and move autonomously to catch a combine on the go.

The system uses Starlink connectivity and PTx Trimble location technology, while the combine’s guidance and steering system remains unchanged. Field boundaries loaded into the OutRun system keep the cart/tractor team where it needs to be.

Less Manpower Potentially Required
Nebraska farmer Geoffrey Ruth says he is pumped about the practicality and ease-of-use of driverless grain cart automation. The opportunity to reduce manpower needs or redeploy a worker is especially appealing.

“We’re usually pretty short on labor at harvest time, so we’re looking to purchase one outright and take that operator and throw them in a semi to haul grain,” Ruth says in this recent article by Farm Journal’s Matthew Grassi: Smart Harvest: How One Farmer Is Hitting Harvest Windows, Helping Others With Grain Cart Tech

As Ruth and Ferrie quickly learned, the grain cart can be staged or called for unloading without the need for another driver.

Once full, the combine operator can then send the grain cart to a predefined truck unload zone for unloading. An operator is still needed, however, to unload the cart into a truck.

“Once you get a full tank, you call for the cart, and the cart will pull up beside the combine and unload on the go for you, or you could stage it at the end, so it’s waiting for you when you get there,” says Ferrie, whose agronomic team at Crop-Tech Consulting are running the system.

The truck driver can then disengage the cart, fill the truck and then reengage the cart so the combine operator can take control of the system again.

“Your combine operator can put the cart anywhere he wants it to go,” Ferrie says. “If you’ve got tile holes, terraces, or other places in the field you don’t want that cart to go, the combine operator can draw those areas on the screen and tell it, ‘these are no-go areas,’ so it doesn’t get itself into trouble.”

Ruth adds that the system also knows where the farmer already cut corn and will use that area as a path instead of mowing over crops that haven’t been harvested yet. It’s similar to how a drone already knows the safe path home when the pilot hits return to home on the controller.

OutRun is currently available for model year 2014 or newer John Deere 8R tractors with Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) and will be commercially available on Fendt models in 2026.

You can learn more about PTx Trimble’s OutRun system at www.OutRunAg.com

Kansas Farmer Harvests Corn Yields 30%-Plus Above APH

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 22:02:41 GMT

For some Kansas corn growers like Matt Splitter yields are shaping up to be well above average this harvest, and maybe even a record – a welcomed change from the past two years, which were plagued by drought.

The central Kansas farmer says moisture at key times kept his corn crop growing early and then packing on test weight at the back end of the season. While he is grateful for the rains, he is ready for them to stop.

“We got another inch-and-a-half of rain, oh, two nights ago. So, we are picking around on some corn and trying not to get stuck,” says Splitter, a fifth-generation farmer based near Lyons.

After roughly 10 days of harvest, he estimates corn yields are coming in about 30% to 40% above his average production history (APH).

“Volume always wins,” Splitter says. “Prices are not great, but holy cow, we’ve cut more bushels in the first eight days of corn harvest than we probably have for the last two years combined because of drought.”

Despite the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Drought Monitor map and its associated products remain unaffected and will continue to be released on schedule, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.

(NDMC)

Record Harvest Projected For 10 States
The USDA September forecast for total corn production projects U.S. yields will come in about 13% above last year, with 10 states expected to see record numbers.

In Kansas, farmers are likely to harvest a yield range of 131 to 146 bushels on average, according to Greg Ibendahl, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University. He calculated the yield range in early September using U.S. Drought Monitor data.

Even with the extra bushels, Splitter is concerned they won’t be enough for him and other Kansas farmers to completely resolve financial shortfalls.

“If we’d have come into this year on an even keel, this season would’ve been a home run on volume, but I don’t know if it’s going to cause us to get whole again,” he says.

Splitter estimates he and other Kansas farmers would need double to two-and-a half-times the bushels he’s combining to regain their economic footing.

“Financially, there’s a lot of holes that people are going to have to dig themselves out of. And I just don’t think we can. I don’t think we can bushel all our way out of it,” he says.

(Photo: Nick Hemphill)

Is Financial Aid On The Way?
The Trump administration is said to be preparing an aid package that would provide financial relief to farmers. Dollar ranges from $10 billion to $15 billion have been reported.

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Fox News that “We will be announcing a program as soon as the shutdown ends on what we’re going to do in the short term for these row croppers, including our soybean farmers.”

Brooke Rollins: "Farmers just want to sell their product. They don't want checks from the government. But until we get there with all these new trade deals opening up markets by the president, onshoring our food supply for health reasons but national security reasons -- we will… pic.twitter.com/d00bTL7h8h
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 9, 2025

More than 200 state and national agricultural organizations sent a letter to President Trump earlier this week, saying many farmers need help now. To view the letter and those who signed it click here .

Splitter, like most farmers, wants the marketplace to reward him and other farmers for yield results and not a financial bailout. He adds that if aid does come out at the end of 2025, it won’t do as much good if he has to pay a huge amount of taxes on the dollars.

“We’re making decisions now to create income or mitigate losses, you know. There has to be something put into place where I can roll some of this into 2026, if I need to,” he says.

Hear the conversation AgriTalk host Chip Flory had on Wednesday with Splitter and Chad Ingels, Iowa farmer and representative:

Desiccants Could Help You Harvest More Soybeans At Ideal Moisture Levels

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:00:17 GMT

Harvesting soybeans at an ideal moisture level is a challenge for farmers to achieve in any year, and 2026 is no exception.

What commonly happens is soybeans drop below a desirable moisture level in what seems like a blink of an eye, notes soybean yield champion Randy Dowdy, based in Valdosta, Ga.

“You’ve got about 30 minutes in a day when you can pick soybeans at 13% moisture,” he says, only half joking. “After that, they’re below 13% and we start to get seed quality issues. Then the test weights go down and yields go down, too.”

David Hula says overly dry soybeans are an issue for any farmer, especially those who are growing seed beans.

“You can get wrinkled seed coats, and as you handle beans, that wrinkle can cause a pinhole and then those beans are not going to germ,” explains Hula, based in Charles City, Va.

Hula and Dowdy’s solution? They use a desiccant to hasten soybean plant maturation at a higher moisture level. The practice can provide more flexibility with harvest timing.

“We go in there and knock the leaves off these soybeans at 15% to 17% moisture, and then get the combine in there and harvest them. They’re not hard to dry whatsoever, and there’s some free bushels there. No doubt about it, you’re making some more yield,” says Dowdy in this week’s Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast .

When Using A Desiccant Can Make Sense
Desiccating soybeans with some type of drying agent – often a defoliant designed for that purpose or a herbicide – is a common practice used by soybean growers in the South. There, weather conditions stay warmer longer going into the fall and offer fewer environmental triggers to mature soybeans – unlike what occurs in the upper Midwest with its cooler, shorter days in autumn.

“There are situations and seasons where soybeans tend to remain a little green and are difficult to harvest,” says Seth Naeve , University of Minnesota professor and Extension soybean specialist in an online article . “When there are warmer fall conditions where we don’t have an early or even a normal hard freeze, or if farmers had to delay planting — all could lead to harvest challenges in the North and desiccants could be of help.”

Dowdy says many farmers struggle to achieve a 60-lb. test weight with soybeans, because moisture levels can fluctuate in the field.

“The yield goes out the window when beans go wet-dry-wet-dry, it’s part of that phantom yield loss,” he explains. “If growers can get them out of the field and dry them, that’s an easy way to make some money, I think.”

Naeve adds that while Midwest growers might find a desiccant useful in some years, “they won’t be needed every year or on every acre.”

Midwest Growers Weigh The Pros And Cons
Eric Anderson, a field crops educator with Michigan State University, believes there is potential for Midwest soybean growers to benefit from using a desiccant. But Anderson notes there are potential risks and rewards that growers need to evaluate before using one.

In a recent online article , he details some pros and cons for farmers’ consideration:

Potential Benefits:

Induce uniform seed moisture across a variable field
Potentially control weeds depending on desiccant selected
Quicken harvest, reducing the risk of shatter loss with wet-dry cycles
Allow for timely winter wheat or cover crop planting
Potentially reduce harvest difficulties associated with green stem

Potential Challenges:

Yield loss likely if applied before yield has been set
Need higher temperatures and humidity for efficient and quick desiccation
Harvest may only be a few days earlier than normal to achieve desired grain moisture and to account for pre-harvest interval (depending on desiccant used)
Cost of products and application and possible yield loss may make the practice unprofitable
Greater shatter losses possible if not harvested at optimum time after desiccation
Seed quality can be impacted if desiccant applied too early

Herbicides Labeled For Use And Their Cost
Anderson says the selected desiccant should have a short pre-harvest interval, so the crop can be harvested once the desired grain moisture level has been achieved. Care should also be taken to ensure the chemical applied will not negatively impact establishment of the following crop or cover crop (rotation restrictions).

Anderson references three herbicides labeled as potential harvest aids: paraquat (Gramoxone), saflufenacil (Sharpen) and sodium chlorate (Defol-5). Various adjuvants (e.g., crop oil concentrate, methylated seed oil, non-ionic surfactant) are required or recommended according to product labels, he adds.

From Dowdy’s perspective, with soybean prices below the cost of production, growers need to investigate any agronomic practice that can put more yield in the bin.

“Prices are already bad. We don’t need to give away any yield to boot; we just can’t afford it. So we’ve got to be willing to try some things,” he says.

“The herbicide costs about $2 an acre, not counting the application. So, it would be something to consider for sure,” Dowdy adds.

Farmers can learn more from the most extensive study to date conducted by the Science for Success team of soybean researchers in 2024 at 19 locations across 13 states.

In addition, Naeve is looking at the effect of desiccation from several aspects through a research project funded by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council.

Watch the latest Breaking Barriers with R&D podcast with yield champs David Hula and Randy Dowdy on YouTube or Farm Journal TV and on AgriTalk.
Your next read: Farmer Finds A Silver Bullet For High Corn Yields

Cotton Bolls Are Opening, Harvest Aids On Deck

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:38:54 GMT

Temperatures in the 80s and 90s are welcomed this week across West Texas and the Texas Panhandle, as growers seek the “open fall” that helps finish the cotton crop. Hot temperatures and a few storms are forecast in central Texas. Oklahoma and Kansas are also enjoying favorable growing conditions.

The forecast for the Mid-South is similar, with the Memphis and Little Rock areas projected to see clearing skies after several days of rain. A few showers are expected to yield to sunny skies in the Jackson, Miss., and Delta regions further south.

Of course, forecasts can change, but hopefully not enough to slow crop maturity. On Sept. 14, USDA reported bolls opening nationwide were at 50%. That increased to 60% this past Monday, Sept. 21. Key cotton state boll openings included:

70% in Alabama
79% in Arkansas
76% in Georgia
22% in Kansas
89% in Louisiana
75% in Mississippi
71% in Missouri
57% in Oklahoma
77% in Tennessee
53% in Texas

Tennessee cotton started slowly due to the wet spring. “We had good potential after the rain, but the faucet cut off in the summer,” says Tyson Raper, University of Tennessee Extension cotton specialist in Jackson, noting the state’s cotton acres are down. “The early cotton looks good, but the later stuff is rough due to drought. About 80% of the early bolls are open. The later cotton bolls are approaching 60%. We’re barely into harvest. Yields should approach 900 pounds per acre.”

Drip-irrigated field in Hockley County, Texas, should see defoliation in early October.

(Kerry Siders)

The recent rain is forcing a more aggressive approach to defoliation. “The concern now is for regrowth,” Raper says. “Much residual fertilizer wasn’t taken up by plants in the summer dry conditions. It’s now being absorbed after the rain. We may need higher rates of Folex. As we see more regrowth, we’ll likely need a second shot.”

In the South Plains, Kerry Siders, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension IPM agent, Cochran, Hockley and Lamb counties, says it will likely be Oct. 20 before cotton strippers hit the fields. “Harvest aids will go out in early October on irrigated fields,” he says. “If they’re applied on Oct. 3, it will take 10 to 14 days before fields are ready to strip. Some dryland fields that receive a shot of paraquat could see harvest start earlier.”

The forecast for the South Plains-Panhandle region calls for temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s for the next few weeks. “We don’t see much of a forecast for lower temperatures,” Siders says, adding application of a boll opener, such as Ethephon, should help get plants ready for harvest.

“Remember, the Ethephon label requires the product come in contact with the boll for it to open,” he stresses. “Just getting it sprayed on top of the plant isn’t enough. Coverage is the key. We recommend a quart of Ethephon mixed with 10 to 15 gallons of water per acre.”

He projects strong yields if the weather continues to cooperate. “We’re seeing good cotton,” he says. “It’s still near the range of 9 nodes above cracked bolls NACB. At that rate, plants need to open another 4 to 5 nodes on their own. Irrigated fields could yield in the 3.5-bale range,” he says. “Some dryland fields could hit 200 pounds per acre.”

In central Texas, Tyler Mays, AgriLife Extension IPM Agent, also recommends a solid defoliation program: “We’re in the middle of harvest, but some late-planted fields are getting ready for defoliation. With the cooler weather, Folex or Finish 6 are good replacements for Ethephon.”

Southern Texas Blacklands yields are above average, he says, with dryland yields ranging from “2 bales per acre to as high as 4 bales. Our average yield is 1 to 1.5 bales.”

Jostling with Jassid

As Georgia growers begin harvest, the “catastrophic” jassid leafhopper is on their radars, says Taylor Sills, Georgia Cotton Commission executive director in Perry. “Georgia is ground zero for the new insect threat. Some acres have been severely affected by it,” he says.

“Bidrin has been the pesticide of choice for jassid control, but Carbine is also being used. As an industry, we have a lot to learn about this insect.”

Meanwhile, he says only a small percentage of Georgia cotton has been harvested. Maturity varies, as some acres were planted after June 1. “In far northern Georgia, growers are hoping for a late fall and winter,” Sills says. “Overall, we could have an above-average crop, but there’s a long way to go.”

Ben McKnight, AgriLife Extension cotton specialist in College Station, says no jassid leafhopper damage has been reported in Texas. However, large retailers are being monitored by the Texas Department of Agriculture to determine if imported ornamental plants that were the source of jassid are contaminated with the insect.

McKnight says harvest in the Upper Gulf Coast “is progressing nicely. Yields are slightly above average.”

Drought Spreads: Precipitation Amounts Are Stagnant But Delivery Is More Extreme

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 21:15:22 GMT

According the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Drought Monitor, this past week saw a continuation of scant rainfall leading to widespread expansion of conditions ranging from abnormal dryness to moderate to severe drought across the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast regions.

(UNL Drought Monitor)

Relief from the dryness might not come easy.

AccuWeather released analysis of nearly 60 years of data showing across the U.S. a notable shift in more frequent extreme rainfall events. However, these heavy rainfall events don’t equal more total precipitation, but rather, nearly the same amounts when all added together.

AccuWeather meteorologists point to three data takeaways:

• Days with 1" or more of rain is up approximately 9% since 1965, reflecting the growing prevalence of storms with high water-loading capacity.

• Daily 4" rain events have increased about 70% since 1965.

• Hours per year with 1" or more of rain have nearly tripled since 1985.

The risk brought by the heavy rain outweighs the benefits of the precipitation as flash flooding is more common with these types of events.

Specific to agriculture, the AccuWeather team says the industry-specific threats include crop delays, increased pest pressure and lower yields.

In the company’s press release, meteorologists point to rising global temperatures increasing the atmosphere’s capacity to hold water, therefore the extra moisture results in single events with heavier rainfall.

“As described by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, for every 1°F of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 4% more water vapor, increasing the potential for extreme rainfall events,” says Brett Anderson, AccuWeather climate expert and senior meteorologist, in the AccuWeather news release.

Will Drought Conditions Reverse Through Winter?

UNL will release its latest drought monitor on Thursday, and you can see it here.

Meanwhile, the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for Sept. 23 – 27 favors above-normal temperatures across the U.S. Geographies with chances of above-normal precipitation include: the West Coast and Intermountain West, Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley and lower Ohio Valley. However, areas forecast for below-normal precipitation include: the Rockies, the Great Plains, upper-Midwest, and the western Great Lakes region.

Looking ahead through December, much of the southwest, Great Plains, Mississippi Valley and southeast are below normal for their precipitation outlook.

(CPC)

Ferrie: Why Your Corn Crop Could Be Drying Slowly This Fall

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 21:16:53 GMT

While some Illinois corn growers are heading into harvest early, others are telling Ken Ferrie their corn is drying slowly in the field – they’re seeing moisture levels drop only one point per week.

The rule of thumb historically is that mature corn that dies after reaching black layer will dry in the field at a rate of 0.5% to 1.0% per day in September, and then 0.25% to 0.5% per day in October, according to Iowa State University Extension .

Generally, it takes about 30 GDDs to lower grain moisture each point from 30% down to 25%. Drying from 25% to 20% percent requires about 45 GDDs per point of moisture, according to Peter Thomison, Ohio State University retired Extension state specialist for corn production.

But many agronomic factors come into play that influence dry down, including genetics, delayed planting, nutrient use, weather conditions — especially temperature, humidity, and rainfall — and disease issues.

Reaching Black Layer Prematurely Plays A Role

One reason for a slow drydown process in some fields is a result of the crop dying prematurely.

Premature corn death occurred in parts of the Midwest crop and for multiple reasons. In dry and droughty areas of Illinois, farmers saw high heat kill their corn crop prior to black layer. Likewise, Ferrie says many Iowa and Minnesota growers had corn that died before black layer due to southern rust and other disease pressure – even where the crop had adequate water.

“Corn that dies before black layer from dry weather, high heat or disease pressure can dry down slower,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, in this week’s Boots In The Field podcast.

The damage caused by adverse weather or disease can cause the plants to reach physiological maturity (black layer) prematurely, leading to poor dry-down and higher grain moisture, according to Purdue University corn specialists in an online article.

“When it comes to corn that dies pre black layer, you are at the mercy of God’s corn dryer,” says Ferrie, who encourages farmers to keep checking corn moisture levels and stalk quality to determine when to start harvest.

He offers three additional recommendations:

1. Don’t forget to calibrate combine yield monitors. “We need good, calibrated maps for when we analyze this crop at your yield map meetings this winter,” Ferrie says. “What these maps will teach us is invaluable in helping us shape our plans going forward, especially for you guys that are on the high-res program.”

2. Stay on top of harvest losses. Dry crops will mean more header loss for both corn and beans. “The tip pullback we’re seeing in [central Illinois] corn means we’re going to have to work a little harder to get this stuff off the cob. So keep a close eye on your thrashing losses,” he says.

3. Be proactive with your soybean harvest. “If they’re testing but cutting tough, keep grinding them out at that higher moisture. Don’t let that get away from you,” Ferrie says. “If you can knock beans out of the pod and they’re testing, even though that combine’s groaning, keep going as these moistures drop.”

Ferrie gives an update on yields he’s seeing across Illinois in this week’s Boots In The Field podcast here:

Drought Conditions Intensify Threat Of Field And Combine Fires

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 19:57:26 GMT

High temperatures and low humidity across the eastern and western Corn Belt this past week have increased the risks for field and combine fires as harvest ramps up across the country.

With the dry conditions, Ken Ferrie encourages everyone to have plans A and B in place, ready to implement if fire occurs.

“If your plan A is to call the fire department, remember, in rural America, most of our great volunteer firemen are running their own combines, so response time is a challenge,” he says.

While Ferrie believes you – or someone on your team – needs to call the fire department or 911 to get help, he says to consider making containment your Plan A.

In the case of a field fire, keep a tillage tool or spray tender nearby. “Have it in the field with you ready to go,” he advises.

Crops that are extremely dry coupled with even a bit of wind can set up a fast-moving scenario you need to snuff out quickly. Time is of the essence, as a fire can double in size within a mere minute or two.

“That situation won’t wait for you to go home, find a tractor, dig out a tillage tool or stick a hose in your spray tender and get to your field,” Ferrie says. “You won’t have the time to do that.”

A fully engulfed corn crib fire spread to nearby fields in Foosland this Friday.
📸: Mackenzie Wichtnerhttps://t.co/XkFERxHVf6 pic.twitter.com/1sG1uVVlMW
— WICS ABC 20 (@wics_abc20) September 19, 2025

In case of a combine fire, turn off the engine, get away from the machine, and phone for help.

Then, attack with fire extinguishers if it is safe to do so, advises Joshua Michel, Iowa State University field agronomist, in an online article .

“Try to fight from the ‘black,’ the area already burned,” Michel says. “Attacking a fire from areas with combustibles (e.g. dry corn stalks) is much riskier. Always stay upwind of a fire to minimize the risk of exposure from smoke, heat and possible flames.”

Keeping a shovel on the combine to throw dirt on a fire can also help.

Five Practical Steps To Be Ready For A Fire

Here are five additional things you can do to address a fire or prevent one from occurring this harvest:

1. As you combine fields, Ferrie says to keep in mind the wind direction. “Combine downwind, if possible, on windy days so if we have a combine fire it burns away from the crop,” he advises.

2. Have a daily maintenance plan for your equipment, including blowing off chaff and debris, properly lubricating chains/bearings, and cleaning up spills, advises Ohio State University Extension (OSU).

“The majority of harvester fires start in the engine compartment. Contributing factors for heat sources include faulty wiring, over-heated bearings, leaking fuel or hydraulic oil,” report Wayne Dellinger and Dee Jepsen at OSU, in this online article .

3. Have two ABC-rated fire extinguishers on hand. Keep a smaller 10-pound unit in the cab and a larger 20-pound extinguisher at ground level on the combine. Keeping an extra fire extinguisher on other pieces of machinery or trucks that are out in the field is also a good idea.

4. Invert the fire extinguisher once or twice during the season to ensure that machine vibrations don’t compact the powder inside.

5. Review your fire emergency plan with family and employees. As part of that, create a list with the 911 addresses for each of your field locations prior to harvest and have them easily accessible to family members and farm employees, Michel encourages. When a fire is called in with a 911 address, dispatch can more readily identify the incident location and relay this information to the fire department. This can save precious time as some fields may be in remote locations.

Your next read: 5 Critical Insights From The Southern Rust Rampage In Midwest Corn

26 Ideas To Cut Fertilizer Costs In 2026

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:32:32 GMT

The outlook for fertilizer costs versus commodity prices for next season is a tough one for farmers across the country.

With that fact in mind, we have compiled 26 nutrient recommendations, tips, tricks and reminders from Farm Journal Field Agronomists, university Extension and industry experts.

Our hope is one or more of these ideas will help you reduce expenses, reallocate resources and build a fertility program for the 2026 season that works well for your farm and gives you some peace of mind in the process. Here we go:

1. Make controlled, calibrated decisions.
Keep your wits about you and be ready to think through various nutrient scenarios – some of which could be very different from what you’ve done in the past. Minimize knee-jerk reactions by allowing adequate time for reflection and evaluation of potential outcomes.

2. Develop your team of advisers.
Put a team of formal and informal advisers in place, those retailers, agronomists and other farmers you can talk to about purchasing strategies and other ideas they have.

Reach out to these folks now. If you make fall applications of anhydrous, that time is just around the corner. Start having discussions with your advisers on what you’re going to do.

3. The four Rs are still important.
The right product, right rate, right time and right placement are still important and can help you maximize yield potential in the process of minimizing expenses.

4. Study your existing soil test results.
“A good approach is to examine each zone in a field and pull back fertilizer rates on high-testing zones and maintain rates in low-testing areas,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

5. Do some soil tests.
If you don’t have recent soil tests, consider fields where it would be worth the investment to do them this fall because of the payoff next season.

Budget your fertility practices. Here are two ways:

6. Consider using a specific dollar amount.
Stephanie Zelinko, national agronomist for AgroLiquid, says based on historical data, farmers usually invest 16% to 20% of their anticipated income from a corn crop on fertilizer. She offers this example:

“Say we expect to grow a 200-bu.-per-acre corn crop and make $5 a bushel. That’s $1,000 of income per acre,” Zelinko says. “Twenty percent of that is $200, and that would be my starting point for a fertility budget.”

7. Prioritize cuts where fertility is adequate.
Another way to prioritize dollars: Instead of cutting $15 of fertilizer across the board, it could be more advantageous to cut $30 for one field and nothing on another field because you don’t have the fertility there to give up.

8. Remember, applying less fertilizer than removal rates call for will lower soil fertility in the field.
That will need to be reckoned with when profitability finally stabilizes.

“The good news is that many farms are in a good place where you can lean them out without damaging yields short-term. That’s the power of knowing your fertility levels,” Ferrie says.

Also, timing and placement can make fertilizer more efficient, but they don’t change the amount of nutrients plants use. For example:

“One thousand bushels of corn requires 740 lb. of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and 380 lb. of potash (0-0-60); and 1,000 bu. of soybeans requires 1,565 lb. of DAP and 200 lb. of potash,” says Ferrie. “If those nutrients are not replaced, levels in the soil will deteriorate.”

9. Macronutrients matter most, especially nitrogen (N).
“If corn runs out of nitrogen, it’s game over for the crop, regardless of phosphorus and potassium levels,” Ferrie says.

That’s not to say you can ignore other macronutrients. It’s more of a matter of prioritizing the first things first.

10. Don’t ignore micronutrients.
Just make sure they pay their way, says Karen Corrigan, a partner in McGillicuddy Corrigan Agronomics.

She advises farmers to address their No. 1 yield-limiting factor first.

“People might want to sell you micronutrients, for instance, but if your problem is potassium, micronutrients aren’t going to help much,” says Corrigan, an independent field agronomist based in Illinois. “So, you really have to know for your own operation what you need to address.”

11. Evaluate starter fertilizer.
In some cases, starter fertilizers can improve corn yield even when soil test levels for phosphorus and potassium don’t strictly warrant a large application, according to Purdue University research .

12. Is banding fertilizer an option?
Banding can make fertilizer more efficient, just keep in mind it doesn’t change the law of nutrient removal rates. Applying less fertilizer than removal rates call for over time will deplete the soil.

13. Tap into online agronomic tools.
Use online resources that can help you navigate the nutrient-use process. For various N-rate scenarios, check out the regional N rate calculator .

14. Look at soil pH.
The optimum pH range for a corn/soybean rotation is about 5.8 to 6.2. Any field with a soil pH below 5.8 will likely benefit from lime.

With a good soil pH, farmers can improve crop yields, nutrient uptake, weed control and herbicide persistence, notes Kelly Robertson, Precision Crop Services, based in southern Illinois near Benton.

“Compared to all the other inputs, limestone is cheap. I can often get the biggest ROI from adjusting soil pH,” says Robertson, who participates in the Soy Envoy program, an initiative by Field Advisor and the Illinois Soybean Association.

Two other things to keep in mind: Not all lime is created equal, so choose carefully. Along with that, pick one that will be available for soil uptake next spring.

15. Consider bean fields versus cornfields.
“If you say, ‘I’m just going to cut out all my bean spreads,’ you’re going to be cutting the lowest fertility in the field,” Ferrie says. “It usually works better to scale back your corn fertility program for most fields.”

16. Can you cut in other places?
Look at how to leave more of your fertility program intact. Maybe you can reduce the number of tillage passes, the dollar amount in your seed spend or substitute generic products for branded ones.

17. Take advantage of ‘reserve now, pay later’ and other financing opportunities.
Talk with your suppliers about any programs they’re offering on bundling products, volume discounts and the like.

18. What isn’t paying its way?
This is the year to cut products and practices that don’t clearly pay for themselves.

“The biggest place to cut is on any extra products – the add-on stuff, where you can easily spend a lot of money,” says Kyle Stull, a certified crop advisor based in Wisconsin.

On the other hand:

19. What new practice could pay next season?
Using cover crops might or might not be a consideration. This is the year to look at new practices through the lens of whether they’ll deliver ROI out of the gate.

20. Are manure and organic amendments opportunities? Consider what’s available, cost-effective and might fit your nutrient needs and farming practices.

21. Evaluate application timing.
Do you need to make a fall anhydrous ammonia application?

Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer for StoneX, says anhydrous could have a big run this fall. Anhydrous is not cheap, but it is well-priced in his opinion compared to urea and UAN.

If you decide to go with more in-season nutrient applications, consider the pros/cons and logistics with your suppliers and applicators. Again, talk with them sooner and not later.

22. Consider what you can do in-season.
Plan on doing some in-season nitrate tests to evaluate where fields stand nutrient-wise and whether the crop can benefit from additional nitrogen.

Ferrie recommends that farmers apply about two-thirds of their nitrogen early and then sidedress the remaining one-third for depth of fill, if you’re using ground equipment.

Be careful to avoid the issue of “gapping” with your N, advises Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. She says because farmers can get through their corn with high-clearance equipment today, they sometimes don’t make their in-season N application in as timely a manner as the crop requires.

“If you don’t apply much nitrogen on the front end, the crop can run out before you get back into the field with an in-season N application. It’s what we call gapping, and you’ll give up a large chunk of yield in that situation, and you won’t be able to get it back,” she explains.

23. If you made deep cuts to your fertility program for 2025, can you cut deeper in 2026?
That’s a decision many farmers are grappling with at this point.

Here’s one recommendation from Virgil Schmitt, Iowa State University regional field agronomist: “If available funds do not allow for application of all the P and K fertilizer that is recommended for your fields, you should apply the recommended rates for areas testing Very Low, even if you rent,” because research shows a large probability of yield increases and positive ROIs.

Read more about allocating funds at: Lime, Phosphorus, and Potassium Fertilizers Decisions in Times of Limited Resources

24. Make contingency plans. Have an idea for your plan B or plan C, in case costs go up. Likewise, if costs go down – and they could – be prepared to take advantage of any opportunity to lock in products at lower costs.

25. Own your plan.
Back to the No. 2 suggestion of working with advisers: it’s good to get wise counsel, but at the end of the day make decisions that are best suited to your farm. Those decisions may or may not mirror what your neighbors and friends do but are the right ones for you.

26. Consider the future.
“Right now, we’re concerned about the short-term, but we need to balance that with long-term thinking as well,” Ferrie advises. “Think about the kind of shape you want your soils to be in, once we cycle out of these low commodity prices.”

Your next read: Fertilizer Decisions For 2026 Crop Will Be A Balancing Act

West Central Illinois Farmer Says Corn Yields Are Down 20 to 30 Bu. Per Acre From Last Year

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 12:25:15 GMT

Perched on the edge of what’s considered to be abnormally dry to moderate drought, west central Illinois farmer Brent Johnson had high hopes for yields at the start of this year. A strong start with even emergence set the groundwork for a solid crop. Instead, as harvest rushes in, the reality of an extremely dry finish to summer is also setting in.

“The corn right now, the general consensus is it’s off 20 to 30 bushels [per acre] from last year and soybeans are off by about 8 to 15 [bu. per acre],” Johnson says.

Johnson started combining on September 3. Two weeks into harvest, he’s finding a good crop — but definitely not as good as last year.

“We didn’t have the finish that we did last year in corn or soybeans. Nothing is ideal, right? But with 98 million acres of corn, maybe we didn’t need that finish. But yields are off,” he says.

Latest look at the U.S. Drought Monitor shows abnormally dry to severe drought conditions across much of the growing region, including Illinois. It’s was a dramatic shift after such a wet start to the growing season.

(U.S. Drought Monitor )

Some of Johnson’s fields haven’t seen rain in seven weeks. For other fields, it’s been as much as nine months since they’ve had measurable rainfall. And not only has it turned dry in their area of Illinois, but temperatures have soared over the past couple of weeks with temperatures above 90°F. In fact, where he farms just outside of Springfield, Ill., they recorded the hottest day of the year so far over the weekend.

“Oddly enough, as much heat as we’ve received, the corn is not drying as fast as I thought it would,” Johnson says. “We tried to harvest a field this morning that was planted end of April and it was still 30% moisture. So, we moved and we’re here now.”

Not Just Drought Eating Into Yields

Johnson says the dry weather definitely trimmed yield in their area, but there were other factors he thinks played a role as well.

“Between the dry weather, the extreme heat, the high nighttime temperatures — and then something we don’t often see — but the hazy days, the Canadian smoke, it impacted the crop. It just wasn’t a perfect year,” he says.

Kernel Weight is an Issue This Year

Johnson says the other surprise is kernel weights, and the fact it’s taking more kernels to make a bushel this year.

“That’s really where we see our highest yields year in, year out is when we have good, easy finishes to this corn crop in August and September, and we bring it to the finish line slowly. We expand those kernels. It’s kind of like going back to a buffet three, four or five times and finishing off that bowl of ice cream. They just swell, and that’s where we get our kernel weight. We don’t have that this year. We’re just racing to the finishing line,” Johnson says.

May Planted Corn May Be Hit the Hardest

The opposite happened this year. A quick finish is compromising kernel weight. And now what he’s concerned about is what the late-summer dryness could mean for his later-planted corn.

“I am a little concerned that maybe the May corn won’t be as good as it normally is because of the weather — similar to what we talked about with the later-maturity beans finishing later. So, it’s going be interesting,” Johnson says.

Johnson says for the past several years, his May planted corn has been his best yielding corn. But this year, he doubts that will hold true. He says some of his corn and soybean fields could still benefit from a rain, but it doesn’t look promising from the forecast.

Dry Weather Means Disease Pressure is Low

It may not be a perfect finish or a record crop, but one thing Johnson is thankful for is that they haven’t been overwhelmed by disease.

“Because we were so dry — we were much drier here than Iowa — we don’t have the Southern Rust pressure here that I’m seeing on social media and reading about that Iowa has,” he adds.

Soybean Yields Could Suffer

Johnson says even though yields are off, he’s actually impressed with how this corn crop finished this year in spite of the lack of rain and the heat. But with no rain in August, soybeans could be a different story.

“Beans are tricky so far because normally, we would be running pretty hard in. We use a fungicide, so we’re used to green stems and some green pods. But the beans are not maturing all at one time from what we’ve seen. So, the moisture in our sample of beans is relative to how many green beans and how many green pods are actually in the sample when they pull it at the elevator. We have yet to get a very good sample in beans, but again, we’ve only cut two fields. They were disappointing in yield. [We were] thinking that our late Group 2s would be some of our best, which gives me worry about some of the later stuff,” Johnson says.

Johnson says he if he had to describe this year’s crop, it would be “just ho-hum.”

A ho-hum crop, and one that had such a promising start here in west central Illinois, reveals record yields aren’t on tap in Illinois this year.

What caused the sudden shift to dry and hot weather? Watch the video below as Drew Lerner of World Weather looks at the drivers and how long it could last.

5 Critical Insights From The Southern Rust Rampage In Midwest Corn

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 18:34:36 GMT

Northeast Iowa farmer Elliott Henderson sprayed a fungicide on part of his corn crop three times this season and nearly all of his crop twice, battling to break the chokehold of southern rust in his fields.

Henderson, who farms in Buchanan County, wasn’t alone in his struggle to contain the disease. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension estimates southern rust reached all 99 counties in the state.

Most corn growers were aware of the disease but hadn’t experienced the ruthless destruction it could cause.

For many, that changed this season.

The farmers Henderson routinely connects with are finding extreme yield losses now, as they start combining a corn crop that in many cases dried down and died prematurely. What occurred is common to southern rust – the disease pustules ruptured corn leaf surfaces, making it hard for plants to retain or regulate moisture.

“I made some calls around to see what guys are getting, and yields are down. I mean, we’re talking 30 to 60 bushels,” says Henderson. “We’re seeing guys with a 240-bushel APH, and they’re talking 180-bushel corn.”

An update on this field. The kernels are many but extremely small. The cob is almost rubbery. One ear doesn’t tell the full story, but this field did not handle southern rust well. #ISUCrops https://t.co/QDDtBWHa0r pic.twitter.com/fiYUboKN1E
— Meaghan Anderson (@mjanders1) September 12, 2025

Yield losses of up to 45% can occur from southern rust in severe cases, according to the Crop Protection Network (CPN).

Along with the yield loss, Iowa test weights are also taking a hit and could result in lower prices for growers. The official minimum test weight in the U.S. for No. 1 yellow corn is 56 lbs. per bushel and for No. 2 yellow corn is 54 lbs. per bushel, according to Purdue University Extension.

Henderson says he’s hearing farmers share test weight numbers well below those.

“We’re seeing lows in the 40s, some upper 40s, so it’s definitely being affected,” he says.

A Perfect Storm Of Disease Pressure
Plant health issues were the biggest challenge many corn growers in the Midwest encountered this season, Randy Dowdy contends.

“It was not a pollination issue. It was not a kernel development issue. We didn’t see the tight tassel wrap. It was disease pressure — that was by far the limiting factor for growers this year,” says Dowdy.

When he participated in the Pro Farmer Crop Tour in mid-August, Dowdy says he saw corn crops from Ohio to Iowa that were affected by multiple diseases. The four main ones were southern rust, gray leaf spot, northern corn leaf blight and tar spot — sometimes all four were on the same leaf in Iowa.

“Those growers that sprayed and stayed on it and understood that a fungicide couldn’t last but for 21 days at best, and made multiple applications, I think they’re going to reap the benefits,” says Dowdy in this week’s Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast.

You can watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube: Breaking Barriers with R&D: Late-Season Wins and Soil-First Strategies

The Crop Protection Network map shows where southern rust was confirmed in counties across the U.S. as of September 16. Notice how far north the disease traveled in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

(CPN)

Both Dowdy and David Hula, business partners in Total Acre , lament that many Midwest growers didn’t take a cue from their southern brethren and spray fungicides multiple times this season.

“Industry, in general, says if you spray at VT or tassel time, you can get by with one time. That is mostly accurate under a normal weather year,” Hula says. “But this year [some Midwest states] just had that explosion of southern rust, so they were dealing with a disease that’s historically not been a problem. You just had the environment for it.”

With growers beginning to plan what to do next season, Dowdy and Hula spent some time this week considering how growers can build an effective agronomic management plan for 2026.

Here are five of their key takeaways:

1. Formalize a plan to address disease (and pests, too).

“You have to stay proactive with your scouting and be willing to go with earlier fungicide or multiple applications, depending on what shows up,” Hula says.

In the process of being prepared to make multiple applications, keep in mind that you might not need all of them. While tar spot overwinters in stubble, southern rust doesn’t. The latter might not be a severe problem next season, as it is blows in from warmer climes.

Dowdy believes the weather system bringing southern rust to the Midwest this season originated in the Delta.

2025 Colfax County Nebraska Crop Tour results: 12 dryland fields, 207.5 bu. 2nd highest yield on record (2021 was 214). Stands were slightly lower than expected. Tar Spot lighter than expected. Southern Rust probably will reduce this yield. #25croptour pic.twitter.com/72VZCFMdZQ
— Chris Clausen (@ChrisClausen34) September 11, 2025

“Let’s face it, the incubator for you was the fact that you were wet and then had high, nighttime temperatures. It was hot, and you had corn everywhere, and you had a perfect environment,” he says.

Henderson agrees, noting moisture at the wrong time and too much heat were factors.

“We had a lot of heat right after pollination into that blister stage. We were stacking GDUs up really fast on that early-planted corn,” he recalls. “I do think some of this later planted corn is probably going to have a better experience finishing out.”

2. Work with like-minded farmers, agronomists and industry experts.

Be aware of disease pressure that is around you or headed in your direction by tapping into a local agronomist or groups such as the Crop Protection Network, and stay abreast of what’s happening in other regions.

“Everybody here is on pins and needles about southern rust every season, and we are constantly getting feedback from county [Extension] agents and industry, who are pushing the information out to the farmer, because everybody is well aware of the ramifications of southern rust,” Dowdy says.

Henderson, who works with Dowdy and Hula via their Total Acre program, also has a network of farmers in Iowa that he connects with on a regular basis.

“It’s a network of dozens of us farmers that call each other, bounce ideas off each other,” he says. “The things we’re talking about are often time-sensitive. It can be a daily thing.”

3. Understand how to use fungicides for maximum ROI, if you have given them little consideration in the past.

“It’s all about coverage,” Dowdy says. “Drone applications can be fine, but no matter what you do, if a guy is spraying two to three gallons, and you compare it to a ground rig spraying 15 to 25 gallons, I mean, there’s just no comparison in that coverage.”

Another aspect of coverage, Hula adds, is making sure the fungicide gets into the plant canopy far enough to have the desired effect.

“Fungicides have a tendency to work from the leaf they’ve come in contact with and move up,” Hula says. “So, if you’re trying to protect at least that ear leaf – and I like to protect the leaf opposite and below the ear – you’ve got to get penetration with that product.”

For a drone application, Hula says growers might have to spend a couple extra dollars to get sufficient volume for the product to get down below the canopy.

“If that’s what needs to be done, let’s do it,” he encourages. “If I’m spending $30 or more an acre, then I want to at least have the success that I’m paying for.”

4. Use products labelled for the disease issue you face.

That sounds like a no brainer, but in the heat of battle the wrong product can get applied, or you can select a product that isn’t up to the task.

With a tough disease like southern rust or tar spot, using newer chemistries with more than one active ingredient is also a plus.

5. Stay with your crop throughout the season; don’t walk away.

Today’s corn genetics tend to have more back-end potential to add yield through kernel fill.

It’s a key reason to evaluate what a fungicide application can do for a crop that’s advanced into one of the later reproductive stages, say Hula and Dowdy.

Brian Herbek, who farms near DeWeese, Neb., has leaned into their advice the past few years.

“I found out a couple of years ago, there’s a lot of hidden yield out there that a lot of us leave on the table,” Herbek reports.

What he learned from Hula and Dowdy is corn has the genetic ability – some hybrids more so than others – to pack starch into its kernels late-season to create higher test weights.

He scouts corn late-season to decide where to make “the finishing pass,” an application of fungicide or nutrients or some combination of the two.

“It’s not for every field. I’ll tell everybody that right now, there are certain fields that don’t deserve that attention,” Herbek says. “But if you know what you’re looking for, and you have that potential, that application does makes sense, but you’ve really got to know what’s out in your field.”

Dowdy and Hula share additional thoughts on how farmers can improve next season’s corn crop in the face of disease pressure in the latest edition of their Breaking Barriers With R&D podcast on Farm Journal TV and YouTube .

More ideas and recommendations are available from the two corn yield champions on the Tuesday morning edition of AgriTalk with Host Chip Flory. Catch their discussion here:

Your next read: Farmer Finds A Silver Bullet For High Corn Yields

Maximize Soybean Yields — Harvesting This Week Could Be Key

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:45:21 GMT

If you’re wondering whether you need to harvest soybeans soon, the answer is yes – maybe even this week – according to Farm Journal Field Agronomists Ken Ferrie and Missy Bauer.

The weather pattern that has set in across much of the Midwest is resulting in a rapid drydown of soybean crops, advancing moisture losses in the beans (seeds) faster than what many farmers might be anticipating.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released last Thursday, Sept. 11, reports nearly one-fourth (22%) of all soybean acres are experiencing some level of extreme dryness or drought.

Many of the top soybean producing states are experiencing abnormally dry conditions to severe drought this week. The result with soybeans is rapid drydown is underway, putting yield results at risk of moving lower.

(CPC/NOAA)

Because drydown is going quickly, Ferrie and Bauer are concerned growers are going to wind up harvesting soybeans with less moisture than desired, and that could be a huge negative for yield outcomes.

“I know a lot of guys are calling around, asking neighbors if they’re cutting beans and what the moisture level is, but I wouldn’t wait,” Ferrie says. “This is the year when cutting 12%, 13% soybeans is a lot better than the 8% beans I think we’re going to potentially deal with.”

Want to know why it’s so dry? Check out this video with U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan — Drought Conditions Intensify: What is Causing This Problem?

Understand The Factors That Contribute To Yield
There are three components to soybean yield: pods per acre, beans per pod and the size of the beans (seed). At this point in the growing season, final soybean yield is being driven by the seed size and weight.

Weather can play a huge role in the development process late-season. If you have favorable late-season temperatures and rainfall, that can create larger seed weights by extending the seed-fill duration.

Conversely, late-season disease or drought – like what is underway now in many areas – can terminate the seed-fill period prematurely and reduce seed size, explain Ryan Van Roekel, former Pioneer field agronomist, and Larry Purcell, University of Arkansas professor emeritus of crop physiology.

The goal with harvesting the crop at a higher moisture level now is to preserve bean seed size (weight).

With Heavier Soybeans, Fewer Are Needed Per Bushel

A standard bushel of soybeans weighs 60 pounds at 13% moisture content. You typically need between 2,500 to 3,500 soybeans to make a pound. Bauer is concerned the number of beans required per pound will be on the higher end this season.

“It’s so dry here (in southern Michigan), the longer we wait the more the seed size is going to suffer,” she says. “We’re going to have a lot of 3,000 or more seeds per pound coming in. It’s going to feel like we’re harvesting BBs.”

Granted, you can err on the other side – harvested soybeans can contain too much moisture, resulting in discounts by buyers. But that’s unlikely to be the case this season.

“With this heat, these beans are going to dry really fast, and we don’t want that to result in us giving up a chunk of yield,” Bauer says.

Ferrie’s advice is to combine soybeans now, even if you don’t think you should be combining them, and that likely means you need to go through fields at slower speeds.

“You’re going to have to deal with a little bit of noise and thumping, and it’s probably going to be easier on the guys with the belted head, versus the auger heads. But push this bean harvest,” Ferrie advises. “Don’t wait for the field to look like it’s right to harvest. The beans might be tough cutting, but keep cutting.”

Your next read: Six Sources of Soybean Loss and How to Address Them

Illinois Farmer's Grain Bin Entrapment Turns Fatal, Son Shares Tragic Story to Save Lives

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 17:18:38 GMT

Illinois farmer Tom Ritter was more than a farmer. At 73 years old, he was a man who still lived to serve.

“Dad was someone who just absolutely loved agriculture,” says Cory Ritter. “I like to tell people he taught us how not to say ‘no.’ So whenever there was something that needed to be done, whether that was serve on a local Farm Bureau or a local board of some sort, if Dad was asked a lot, he said ‘yes’ a lot.”

Illinois farmer Tom Ritter with his granddaughters.

(Cory Ritter, Tom’s Son)

Just weeks away from his 51^st harvest, Tom was doing something he had done countless times before on the farm. He was cleaning out a grain bin on his farm before harvest. But this time, things suddenly went wrong.

“It happened on Aug. 20, and he was wrapping up our last empty in our last bin of corn and using a vac system,” Cory says. “There was something that went wrong with the vac or something, and he knew better than to crawl in the bin but just thought he would try to fix it from the outside. He got frustrated, like we all do on the farm, he popped in the bin real quick and some corn slid down and killed him.”

In an instant, Tom was gone. And a rescue mission by surrounding fire departments, turned into a recovery mission for those involved.

When the call came in that Tom Ritter was trapped in a grain bin, Cory Ritter says eight different fire departments and multiple farmers rushed to the scene to help.

(Cory Ritter )

“His love for community was really shown when all the farmers started showing up. Fire departments, I think there was eight fire departments, that showed up. There were over a hundred people on-site that day,” Cory says.

With the loss of his dad just weeks before, and their family still coping with such a tragic loss, Cory says he’s wiling to share his dad’s story in hopes his tragedy will help prevent accidents on other farms.

“If something good can come out of this tragedy, it’s other people thinking twice before doing something by themselves that’s slightly unsafe,” he says. “We just want to talk to make people think twice. If we can save somebody else, that’s a win and something that I’m going to be comforted in.”

Purdue University reports no fewer than 51 cases involving agricultural confined spaces were documented in 2024, including 22 fatal and 29 non-fatal cases.

(Cory Ritter )

Grain bin entrapments are a continued risk of farming. Purdue University compiles data annually, and the latest report showed 51 grain bin entrapments, and 41.2% of those resulted in a death. That compares to the five-year average of 49.7%.

However, that number is more than likely too low. As the report indicated, over two-thirds of current U.S. grain storage capacity is on farms, which are exempt from OSHA injury reporting requirements, meaning it is highly likely the summary does not encompass all grain-related entrapments.

Focus On Stalk Quality To Maximize Harvest Results

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:37:21 GMT

As Caleb Hamer evaluated his corn last weekend, he says the crop looked like it flipped a switch and decided it was done growing for the season.

“Between the southern rust, some tar spot, and I think the heat, that’s all pushed stuff along. I think the corn shut down probably sooner than need be, which is slightly alarming,” says Hamer, who farms in northeast Iowa.

Severe foliar disease can weaken corn stalks.

Test stalks using the pinch test and prioritize harvest for that field if 10 percent or more stalk rot.

Ask local Extension for more info. @alisonrISU @DTelenko @MandyBish1 @maddishires @MartinChilvers1 @badgercropdoc @tjcksn… pic.twitter.com/qz24gae8aM
— Crop Protection Network (@CropNetwork) September 3, 2025

Farmers Adjust Corn Yield Expectations
Some combination of extreme disease pressure, moisture at the wrong times and too much heat are factors likely to pull some states’ corn yield averages down from USDA’s August 12 WASDE report, which made a record 188.8 bushels per acre average yield projection.

Hamer says he has already adjusted yield expectations for his corn crop.

“I kind of had us shooting for some sort of single digit percentage over last year, and last year was a really good crop in our area. Now I’m hoping we’ll be on par with last year, but I don’t think we’re going to beat it at this point,” Hamer told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory. “I think a lot of that’s related to how fast the crop matured in August, because you’d like it to be slow, not fast in August.”

1/ #Illinois crop progress and condition, for the week ending Sept. 7:

- #Corn condition: 53% good-to-excellent (down 2% from last week)
- Corn dented: 87% (up from 72%)
- Corn mature: 27% (up from 15%)
- Corn #harvested: 2%https://t.co/Sqv7OB25Ou pic.twitter.com/4wwFi9wIZF
— FarmPolicy (@FarmPolicy) September 9, 2025

The fast maturation underway means a lot of corn in the Midwest, especially in parts of Iowa and Illinois, had a more shallow kernel fill than desired which will result in lower yields, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

“I still expect an average crop in Illinois, but not the bin buster we thought was possible early on this season,” he says.

Bloomberg's #corn and #soybeans crop production survey for the September WASDE report on Friday, 9/12. Corn yield estimated at 186.0 bpa and soybeans at 53.2 bpa. Good luck!!! pic.twitter.com/jbVnlt4v62
— HTS Commodities (@HTSCommodities) September 8, 2025

Make A Harvest Plan For Each Field
Ferrie says some central Illinois fields were caught in wind events last week and corn went down, and fields were also plagued by foliar disease pressure in much of the state.

Iowa fields have also been hit hard by foliar disease, especially southern rust, according to Alison Robertson, Iowa State University Extension field crops pathologist. What she says commonly happens is when severe leaf disease impacts corn plants, they remove carbohydrates from the stalk and roots in order to fill kernels in the ears.

“That leads to stalk rots, which leads to poor standability,” Robertson explains “If you have a field that has shut down, you will need to get into that field and harvest early.”

The severity of southern rust across Iowa this summer has Robertson thinking corn yield losses could reach up to 30% in those fields where no fungicide was applied. She discussed the issue on Monday with Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk. Listen to their discussion here:

Ferrie offers advice similar to Robertson’s. “Put these fields high on your harvest list to get corn out before the plants go down anymore and ear molds set in. Spend a little money on dryer gas and keep the harvest loss as low as possible,” he says.

Kentucky farmer Ryan Bivens says he is trying to stay positive despite seeing much of his corn crop die prematurely from a combination of foliar disease and too much heat.

“We’re probably 25%, 30% off our yield expectations, so it’s really tough out here,” says Bivens, who farms south of Louisville. “I’ve said all along, if we can come out of this year with 150- to 160-bushel yield, which is substantially lower than our APH, I think we better be happy.”

We’ve been shelling corn for a few days. Yields are 20% off last year across the board. pic.twitter.com/tXRCw9vZpc
— Eric Schwenke (@erschwenke) September 8, 2025

As farmers evaluate and prioritize fields for harvest, Missy Bauer recommends three steps that can help you in the process:

1. Split stalks open to gauge stalk health.
“When you split stalks open this time of the year, we should still see some integrity down in these stalks,” says Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “If the stalk is cannibalized, and has a Styrofoam appearance, there’s little to no integrity left in the stalks.”

2. Do the pinch test. Pinch the stalk at one of the lowest two internodes with your thumb and fingers. If the pressure causes the stalk to collapse, it fails the pinch test, and that field needs to be toward the top of your harvest calendar.

3. Try the push test.
Another way to evaluate stalk integrity is with the push test. “You grab the plant right about the height of the ear, and extend the stalk over toward the other row a full arm length,” says Bauer.

If the stalk snaps off, or stays leaning over, then you know you have a greater potential for down corn in that field. Again, move that field toward the top of your harvest list.

For your planning purposes, here’s a summary of harvest considerations from Pioneer:

When prioritizing fields for harvest:
· Estimate corn yield. The Pioneer Corn Yield Estimator or the Yield Estimator in the Granular Mobile app provides quick, in-field yield estimates

Manually estimating corn yield:
· Measure one one-thousandth of an acre
· Count harvestable ears
· Determine average kernels per row (avoid tip kernels)
· Count kernel rows per ear
· Calculate: Estimated yield (bu/ac) = (ears × kernel rows × kernels per row)/90 — Example: (32×16×28)/90 ≈ 159 bu/ac

Assess stalk strength:
· Scout 2–3 weeks before harvest and use the push test; harvest weaker fields first to reduce lodging risk
· Check ear molds and calibrate monitors
· Watch for mold issues, especially in corn-on-corn or high-population fields

Calibrate yield monitors and re-check periodically during harvest.

Identify disease, insect and weather stress:
· Flag stressed fields and move them up in the harvest sequence

Operational tips:
· Consider starting at 20–25% grain moisture to spread workload and reduce field and standability risk
· After harvest, review the season’s performance to inform next season’s hybrid selection

Your next read: Corn Market Resilience Continues

Last-Ditch Fungicide Application In Corn Could Save Yield, Prevent Harvest Headaches

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 20:09:45 GMT

David Hula enjoys a good competition. An array of trophies, plaques and certificates of achievement won by growing high corn yields over the past decade-plus attest to that.

But Hula is also known in farming circles for his generosity and commitment to sharing tough lessons learned in cornfields, the school of hard knocks, with other growers who might benefit.

It’s why the world champion corn grower has unapologetically talked up the benefits of fungicide use this season to any farmer within earshot.

On Labor Day, in the process of starting corn harvest, Hula was still telling growers – especially those in the Midwest who have fields hammered by disease pressure – to consider spraying a fungicide now.

“If that milk line has only dropped a quarter and they’ve got three quarters left, there’s still a chance to influence the outcome,” he says. “I would not give up on that crop.”

Consider Growth Stage, Type Of Disease Present
Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, zeros in on corn growth stage to guide uber-late-season fungicide applications.

“If I had a field that has no fungicide at all on it, and I had fairly heavy disease pressure from something like southern rust or tar spot, and I’m at early R4, I would still apply the fungicide. But that’s kind of about my breaking point,” she says on U.S. Farm Report .

As of Sunday, Aug. 31, the USDA Crop Progress Report said 90% of the U.S. corn crop had reached the R4 (dough) stage

Pioneer describes the R4 (dough) stage in corn as having kernel fluid that is thick/pasty, with the cob a pink or red color.

Other characteristics include:

Kernel moisture is approximately 70%
Husk leaves begin to turn brown on the edges.
Just before R5, kernels begin to indent due to starch deposition and moisture loss.
Stress during and beyond this stage will not result in kernel abortion but can reduce kernel weight.

Many Newer Hybrids Build Yield Later

Farmers have asked Bauer if they can apply a fungicide later still, into R5, and get a payback. Her response is to evaluate the environment, whether good weather conditions will be available to help finish the crop, and consider the type and severity of disease pressure.

“I do believe, when it comes to some of these diseases, especially southern rust and tar spot, that a little bit of a ‘Hail Mary’ pass can be effective,” Bauer says. “Is it going to be as effective as if you had done it timely? Well, no, you could have made more money doing it timely, but you’re still protecting bushels and gaining ROI at the end.”

One of the key reasons Bauer says a late fungicide application can still help is because new hybrids are often geared to add test weight late in the growing season via kernel depth.

“If you just do the math alone, and you say, ‘Well, I’ve got 90,000 kernels in a bushel versus 60,000 kernels in a bushel, that’s a 100-bushel difference per acre, so it’s giant. That’s why we always talk about trying to protect this corn crop to the end, because kernel depth and fill are so huge today.”

Hula adds that with the severe disease pressure in many Midwest fields, a fungicide application could also help keep corn crops standing until farmers can harvest them.

For more of Hula’s insights on the value of late-season fungicide use, check out his discussion on AgriTalk with Host Chip Flory:

Eyes On Mississippi River Levels: A Developing Situation

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 21:03:07 GMT

Year-over-year Mississippi River levels at St. Louis and Memphis are currently measuring above last year. But, without significant rain in the forecast and concerns for the volume of water coming from the Ohio River valley into the lower Mississippi, this could elevate levels of concern, particularly in the next few weeks.

“We continue to see evidence that we may once again experience some low water conditions on the lower Mississippi River this fall,” writes Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the soy transportation coalition, in a weekly update. “River levels at St. Louis are approximately 8 higher now than the same date last year. In Memphis, the reading is approximately 4.5 higher. Unfortunately, the trend line continues to decrease.”

What does this mean for grain flow this harvest?

Low levels for the major inland waterway have become a bit of a norm at harvest time.

“For the past three years, we’ve been dealing with low water conditions with three harvests in a row that have somewhat been a nightmare,” says Susan Stroud of No Bull Ag. “It looks like we’re heading into what could potentially be the fourth, but the biggest difference is that right now we’re not nearly as bad as we were before at this point in the past few years where we had major issues.”

Fall into winter is the heaviest time for barge traffic carrying recently harvested crops for export market. Projected high volume crops alongside uncertain trade policies and international markets add to the dynamics instigated by the weather.

“This year is a much different setup than we’re used to seeing in the past,” Stroud says. “We have to first keep in mind that we still have the trade war going on with China, and because of that, we’re here at the end of August getting ready to start the 25/26 marketing year with a record low amount of new crop soybeans with commitments on the books.”

Steenhoek says particularly in soybeans, trade dynamics add a layer of concern on top of infrastructure.

“It is frustrating for the soybean industry given the additional headwinds the industry is facing from anemic export sales — particularly to China,” he says. “One always wants a supply chain to facilitate profitability, not be an obstacle to it. It is particularly important for supply chains to not add insult to injury when export markets are under stress. Low water levels on the Mississippi River may do so as we transition into the fall.”

If water levels dictate draft reductions, barge limits could mean slower and more expensive movement down the inland waterways.

Stroud highlights recent corn trade trends have led to roughly 50% of corn production moving by rail to Pacific Northwest ports and 50% moving down the Mississippi River system to New Orleans.

“We can find, I guess, a little bit of comfort in knowing that some of those [corn] bushels won’t be hitting the river system anyway, and so hopefully any low water issues won’t be impacting corn exports as much,” she says.

With some smaller draft reductions, for example down to 11.6 versus 12, Stroud says the barge industry is monitoring the situation.

“The small draft reductions, are not incredibly prohibitive,” she says. “At this point, it seems like the industry, from a barge perspective, is just on alert, but it’s not like we’ve seen the past few years where we’ve had major challenges.”

Relief in sight?

Steenhoek and Stroud agree it’s important for precipitation to come back into the long range forecast; however, right now there isn’t any widespread rainfall that could bring certainty to river levels.

“If it lingers, it will eventually become a problem, but right now, we want to be cautious in how we move forward from here,” Stroud says. “We like a dry harvest because that’s great for harvest progression. No one wants to be rained on when they’re trying to get beans out of the field. But at the same time, we really don’t have great chances for moisture, in any of the areas that would feed the inland waterway system, or especially the lower Mississippi right now for a few weeks, and so that’s something that we’re going to have to keep an eye on.”

If issues develop, where could the pinch point in the major waterway be?

Stroud is most closely watching river levels at Memphis.

(NWS)

“The Upper Mississippi and the Ohio [River], they come together at Cairo, and then you have Memphis on downstream from that. And so, the biggest challenge there is whatever restrictions you might have in place in Memphis,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if you can load a full draft in St. Louis or in Cincinnati on the Ohio, it’s about the weakest link — the link that has the lowest water condition that would restrict drafts the most.”

(NWS)

Steenhoek says this discussion over river levels may surprise many as the Corn Belt received high levels of rain through July.

“The spigot has mostly been turned off throughout August, particularly in states that feed into the Ohio River,” Steenhoek says. “According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 60% of the water volume on the Mississippi River south of Cairo, Ill., (where the Ohio River merges into the Mississippi River), is provided by the Ohio River. As a result, low water volumes on the Ohio River will often translate to low water volumes on the lower Mississippi River.”

Does domestic demand offset the risks of river levels?

While soybean crush capacity has brought new domestic markets for soybeans, Stroud highlights those processing facilities still end up relying on the river system.

“We’ve had this tremendous increase in soy processing here in the U.S. The thing about that is you have crush plants generally located in the interior of the U.S.; they rely heavily on rail infrastructure,” she says. “A lot of ag doesn’t realize how important rail can be for meal exports, because if you’re crushing a lot of beans and making meal in the middle of Iowa, you don’t have enough local demand, so we have to rely on exports. And in a lot of cases, we see meal cars or meal trains railed into the St. Louis area and then transloaded onto barges and then shipped via the Mississippi for export out of the Gulf.”

She says the U.S. is in its fourth year of record soybean meal export shipments, and the industry can expect those volumes to continue to grow.

Is the U.S. Corn and Soybean Crop Getting Smaller?

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:31:26 GMT

From disease to drought, this 2025 crop has been thrown a curve ball late in the season. It’s also pushing the crop to maturity quicker. And with USDA projecting currently projecting a record yield and crop, many analysts say the U.S. crop is likely going backwards in terms of yield, but that doesn’t necessarily mean USDA will cut yield projections next month.

USDA’s August crop production report showed a record-high 2025/26 U.S. corn yield projection of 188.8 bu. per acre and a record-high soybean yield estimate at 53.6 bushels per acre.

But as AgWeb reported earlier this week , southern rust could take a big bite out of the U.S. corn crop this year. The disease is causing turmoil for farmers who have a large crop in the making. In some cases, a Hail Mary fungicide application at R4 up to early dent (R5) might make sense this season, say agronomists. But in severe cases, the disease can wipe out 45% of the yield potential in a field, according to the Crop Protection Network (CPN) .

A map of counties where Southern Rust has been confirmed or reported in 2025.

(CPN )

Add to that fresh concerns about drought, as the latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows drought is now covering 33% of the country. When it comes to agriculture, 5% of the corn crop is now considered in drought, 11% of the soybean crop and 30% of the cotton crop.

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey authored the Monitor this week, saying the drought picture has drastically changed over the past month.

“We’re seeing rapid expansion flash drought across the mid-south, lower Midwest into the Northeast,” Rippey says. “All of this drought has come on in just the last few weeks. At the end of July, we were virtually drought free in the Midwest, so to see these yellows and tans starting to light up, that is reflective of the overall dryness. Of course, it’s a different story in the West where we’ve got drought really deeply entrenched. But from the big picture here, a lot of focus on those developing drought areas from the mid-South into the northeast.”

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows how the dry August is impacting the drought picture across the country.

(U.S. Drought Monitor )

Rippey says as the taps turned off for some areas, some portions of the Eastern Corn Belt are seeing their driest August on record. He says that dryness is extending westward into parts of the southern and eastern Corn Belt.

“Agriculturally, all eyes are on the Northern Mississippi Delta into the Ohio Valley and the southern Corn Belt. A lot of those areas are receiving less than half of the normal rainfall during the month of August. A few areas have less than 25% of normal,” Rippey says. “And with those taps turning off, that is depleting topsoil moisture. We’re going to have to wait and see with crop production in September to see how the crops have handled this late dryness.”

The map showing the percent of normal precipitation proves areas of the Corn Belt, West and Northeast have turned off dry to end the summer.

(Brad Rippey, USDA)

Rippey says, on a positive note, temperatures have remained mild. So, even though the moisture has been sparse or absent, at least temperatures didn’t amplify the situation. But a dry August is still a concern.

Impact on Yield
Peter Meyer, who helped lead Pro Farmer Crop Tour in the east last week, says with the amount of dryness that’s entered the picture —and the fact that disease has exploded in many Midwest fields over the past week — he thinks the crop is getting smaller, not bigger. But that’s something that likely won’t show up until USDA factors in test weight, which will be the October report.

“I think the crop has gone backward since [Pro Farmer] Crop Tour,” Meyer says. “When I start to look at some of these numbers for the month of August, it was extremely dry in many, many areas. We’re talking the top 10 or 15 dry years out of the last 150, 160 years. So, that’s why the crop ran out of gas. It had a lot of moisture. The heat was there. It pushed a crop further and faster. I think we have an issue.”

Meyer says based on those factors, he’s dropped his yield estimate from the 183 bu. per acre he personally projected during Crop Tour last week.

“But I’m still not below 180 [bu. per acre]. I think we’re going to have an early harvest, and I think we’re going to have an earlier harvest in beans, too. That’s represents a problem here as far as the market is concerned.”

“It definitely feels like it’s going backward,” said Jim McCormick with AgMarket.net on U.S. Farm Report. “When we talk to our clients, which we have some all across the country, they are really concerned about it. Probably a little bit more in the east and the west where we’ve seen some of the driest conditions in 130 years in parts of Ohio. Is it a disaster? No, but it’s definitely taking the top end off the crop.”

Dan Basse, who’s AgResource Company’s president and founder, agrees the U.S. corn and soybean crops could be losing yield, but he warns that it may not be a dramatic cut.

“I think its going backward, but maybe not to the degree that the farmer would like,” Basse said on U.S. Farm Report. “We dropped our yield estimate from 189.2 to 187.1 [bu. per acre]. So, we’re down a skosh from USDA, but this is still a big crop. And some of the early deal data we’re getting out of Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas is above what expectations were. When you think about this crop, southern rust is a bad disease if you get it into blister or early milk stage. But when it happens at dent, you’re looking at yield losses of zero to 4%. So, let’s hope that farmers applied one application of fungicide and that kept them until the crop got in the dent. I’m hoping that’s going to limit yield losses going forward.”

USDA’s next yield revision could come Sept. 12. That’s when the agency is slated to release its latest crop production report. But if you look at USDA’s methodology in September, which is to factor in ear counts and pod counts, Basse thinks USDA could potentially raise its yield estimate next month.

“I think, in general, they tend to grow a little bit bigger,” McCormick says of USDA’s historical pattern of yield estimates from August to September. “I mean, look at last year’s analog year. The crop was big in August, it got bigger in September, then again in October before they started revising it down. It would not be a surprise that they will go bigger, but there’s gonna be a lot of pushback, like Dan said, from the disease pressure. There’s going to be a wide range on the estimate for the September WASDE when it’s all said.”

Basse adds: “I wouldn’t be surprised if USDA raises yield next month. Even on the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, it showed us record ear counts and record pod counts. Those are the two most important ingredients for the September report. Now, in October, we’ll have more to know about pod weights and ear weights. But for September, I’m kind of expecting USDA is going to be a few bushels, if you will, from the August estimate. It’s the October report that will determine how big is big.”

Corn Disease Alert: Don’t Mistake Anthracnose Top Kill for Rust

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 13:32:27 GMT

The Midwest corn crop has endured a pressure cooker of disease problems this season.

Now, the aftermath of stress from disease and weather extremes in many areas are contributing to anthracnose top kill, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

“A lot of people think their corn is going through natural drydown at this point, but that’s not the case,” he says.

How To Tell The Difference
Ferrie explains the visual differences between the photo finish you want to see in corn and what happens when top kill sets into the crop:

The Desired Drydown Process: The husk should be ripening while the two leaves below the ear are green. In addition, above the ear the plant will be green all the way to the top of the plant. It should be dying slowly from the bottom up.

Anthracnose Top Kill: With this problem, you will see a green husk and the top two leaves will be dead or dying.

“Some farmers may confuse top kill with one of the rusts this year because the top of the plant could be yellow to orange in color. But rust comes from the ear zone and goes north to the top of the plant, while top kill shows up at the top of the plant and goes down,” Ferries explains.

Another clue to whether anthracnose was the cause of top kill (as opposed to high temperatures), Ferrie tells growers to look for black spores on the outside of the lower stalk of dead plants.

“When you split the top of the stalk, you’ll see discoloration. The more the hybrid is stressed, the quicker the problem shows up,” he says.

While fields that were sprayed with a fungicide later in the season tend to show the least amount of anthracnose top kill, fungicide does not stop it.

“We don’t have a fungicide for anthracnose top kill, but the healthier your plants are the less of the problem you’ll likely find,” Ferrie says.

Yield Loss Potential At This Point
“If your crop is at late R5 moving into R6, and the top of that plant is solid, it should finish strong,” Ferrie says.

But when top kill comes in 15 to 20 days before black layer, Ferrie says it hurts late-season kernel fill. This is particularly true in newer hybrids, which often build a lot of their yield late in the season.

Those hybrids will be pushed to black layer faster and at the cost of kernel depth.

Ferrie advises farmers to start conducting stalk push tests at 30- to 40-degree angles in their crop to see if the stalks will buckle, and to plan their harvest accordingly.

“With this stress from top kill, things will speed up and harvest will be here sooner than later for some growers and, unfortunately, with less yield,” he says.

Your next read: Southern Rust Set To Take Big Bite Out Of Midwest Corn Crop?

2018 All Over Again? Northwest Corn Belt Farmers Face Storage Crunch, Basis Collapse

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:43:58 GMT

Farmers in the northwestern Corn Belt are experiencing déjà vu. Harvest 2025 is starting to feel like 2018 all over again. The lack of export business has widened soybean basis in North Dakota, says Frayne Olson, crop economist and marketing specialist with North Dakota State University.

China, which takes 25% of all U.S. soybeans, is facing tariffs as high as 23%. As a result, Beijing has made no purchases of new crop soybeans .

“Current soybean basis levels are anywhere from -$1.35 to -$1.55,” Olson says. “During the peak of the last trade war between the U.S. and China, we were at a -$2 in many locations.”

North Dakota farmers depend on soybean exports to China, so they’re looking for a market for more than half of their 220 million bushel crop.

“We’ve been set up to ship through the Pacific Northwest to China. Right now, with that market shut down, 120 million bushels have to go somewhere,” explains Randy Martinson, Martinson Ag in Fargo, N.D.

Farmers Might Face Storage Crunch
With $8 cash soybean bids in the Dakotas and Minnesota, and no bids for fall in a few markets, farmers might need to break the norm and store soybeans.

“The incentives are now for farmers to store soybeans on-farm and try to push some of the corn through the system as quickly as possible,” Olson says. “Our challenge with that, of course, is harvest capacity.”

Farmers are scrambling to find storage and have limited options — with old crop still to move and capacity lost to storm damage in North Dakota.

Olson says their options will depend on harvest conditions and moisture content.

“If the corn is dry enough, I think there will be a lot to put into bags . There will probably be some we’re going to have to pile outside regardless, whether they’re farm storage piles or commercial storage piles,” he says.

Other Areas Also See Basis Weaken
Basis has also weakened in other areas of the Corn Belt, such as Kansas, where big crops are predicted and processors have backed off bids for corn and soybeans, says Mark Knight with Farmers Keeper Financial.

“You’re seeing some basis get wide. They expect a big crop coming, so there’s not a big supply fear out there right now. Why pay up?” Knight says.

Farmers might have to sell overflow bushels and look at buying the crop back on the board, he advises.

“They’re looking for ways to re-own — whether it’s through futures, options or storage themselves. I think most of the guys are going to get away from paying for commercial storage,” he explains.

With the storage crunch, commercial storage costs will likely be much higher this fall.

Southern Rust Set To Take Big Bite Out Of Midwest Corn Crop?

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 21:56:59 GMT

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then the video Iowa farmer Dan Striegel shot last week must be worth thousands more. In the video, Striegel is shown harvesting a field of emerald-green corn enveloped in a cloud of orangish-red southern rust.

“We were just getting that field opened up, and I looked over and saw that dust boiling up out of the chopper, so I shot the video,” Striegel says.

Southern Rust? Never heard of her.
What Cheer, Iowa. USA. #pftour25 #harvest25 pic.twitter.com/tiIsUc2CHl
— Dan Striegel (@djsinseia) August 21, 2025

To date, Striegel’s video has garnered more than 48,000 views on X, formerly Twitter.

“We’re in southeast Iowa, Keokuk County, and I think the southern rust is as bad here as it is anywhere,” Striegel adds. “Every field you walk in, if you’re wearing a white T-shirt, you’ll come out of there red.”

A Red Path Of Disease Mars The Midwest

Expect to see more red T-shirt-clad farmers walking out of cornfields across the upper Midwest, based on what the Crop Protection Network (CPN) southern rust map is showing.

The CPN continually updates its online, interactive map showing the counties by state where southern rust infections are confirmed. Now, in late August, the counties look like red steppingstones. They form a checkered path from southwest Michigan through northern Illinois and Indiana, into southern Wisconsin, across all of Iowa and nearly two-thirds of the way across Nebraska. Eastern South Dakota is also lit up with a string of red counties, as are parts of southern to central Minnesota.

The amount of southern rust present in the upper Midwest is worrisome to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. In severe cases, the disease can wipe out 45% of the yield potential in a field, according to the CPN.

“At most, one in 10 growers in northern Iowa and Minnesota have seen the kind of southern rust some of them are seeing this year,” says Ferrie, who was working last week with corn growers in both states.

“It was a problem in probably eight out of every 10 fields I was in, and they’d all been sprayed at least once,” he says. “Minnesota has a corn crop that’ll knock your socks off – yield potential of 250, 270. I encouraged every grower to spray their field a second time except for two fields. One had been knocked down by hail, and the other had a hybrid that was clean.”

I spoke with a good friend of mine from Iowa yesterday that is an agronomist and farmer. He said the southern rust in corn across Iowa and much of the Midwest will take 9 to 12 bushel/acre off corn yields on average from what his team and himself are seeing. pic.twitter.com/Ad1VJ9oQBg
— Captain Cornelius1 (@ISU145) August 26, 2025

Hybrids Have Little To No Resistance To Southern Rust

A combination of early-season moisture, heat and wind formed the perfect storm for southern rust this season, allowing the disease-causing fungal spores (Puccinia polysora) to move from southern climes up to the Midwest, according to Kurt Maertens, BASF technical service representative for eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

“We’ve seen it all – southern rust, tar spot, northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot. Our corn has been inundated with all these fungal diseases, and we started seeing them early,” says Maertens.

If there’s a silver lining to southern rust, it’s that it does not overwinter in corn residue like tar spot does. But like tar spot, southern rust takes advantage of hybrids that have no built-in resistance. For many growers, that was an Achilles heel this season.

“When you’re dealing with a 117-day hybrid like they grow in southern Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky, you don’t grow corn that doesn’t have good southern rust resistance, because they deal with it every year,” Ferrie notes. “When you move to Minnesota, and you’re planting 102- to 95-day corn, you’re probably not going to find hybrids with southern rust resistance.”

Striegel says that was true for his neighbor’s cornfield, which he custom chopped for silage. “That field had two hybrids in it, one was worse than the other, and the field had been sprayed with a fungicide,” he says.

He adds that he also sprayed his own cornfields with fungicide, but they are still inundated with southern rust.

“We’ve had southern rust before, and it’s not usually something we have to worry about, but this is really bad,” Striegel says. “I’m standing on my deck looking at the cornfield next to my house, and you know, all of the leaves from the ears down in that field are covered with it.”

Southern rust is real in eastern Nebraska. Fungicide 3 weeks ago, 2nd app today with some potassium acetate pic.twitter.com/WZubU6IBwz
— Trent Mastny (@TrentMastny) August 21, 2025

How Late Is A Fungicide Application Still Worthwhile?

Ferrie says the fields he scouted last week were at late R3 to early R4 and had already been sprayed with fungicide at least once, but the disease was rebuilding.

“Any field where farmers had sprayed two weeks previously, the southern rust and northern corn leaf blight, to a lesser degree, were coming back, especially the southern rust. It was resporating,” he says.

The intense disease pressure from southern rust, tar spot and others have kept fungicide use at high levels this season, despite poor commodity prices.

“Because of that [amount of disease pressure], we have seen increased demand for our fungicides this year,” says Maertens, who encouraged customers to get applications made at the beginning of tassel.

Maertens says he has fielded a lot of questions this summer from farmers, asking how late they could go with a fungicide application and still benefit.

“Our recommendation is to get in front of disease,” he says. “Generally, we stop applications before we get to dent (R5). That’s not to say a later application can’t have some benefit, but our best results have been before infection was able to take place.”

Southern rust is a yield enemy farmers routinely face in the Southeast, reports corn yield champion Randy Dowdy, Valdosta, Ga. He participated in the Pro Farmer Crop Tour last week and said on U.S. Farm Report he believes many Midwest farmers still have time to address disease.

“We need to implore the fungicides, the technologies out there and get after it and protect this crop, especially that crop that still has not reached dent,” he says.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer likes to see farmers complete their fungicide applications on the front side of dough (early R4). “Once we get to early dent, I think it’s a little more challenging to get the payback consistently, though we’ve applied at early dent (R5), and seen a nice response,” says Bauer, who is based in south-central Michigan.

Under the tough disease pressure farmers are facing this year, Bauer is telling growers to scout fields and evaluate what growth stage their crop is in before they walk away or pull the fungicide trigger one last time.

She adds that farmers need to check the label to make sure the product used is able to address southern rust effectively. She describes these as “Cadillac” products containing the newest chemistry.

“When it comes to some of these diseases, especially southern rust and tar spot, I do believe a little bit of a Hail Mary pass can be effective,” she says. “Will it be as effective as an application you could have made on a more timely basis? Well, no, you could have made more money doing it timely, but you’re still protecting bushels and gaining ROI at the end.”

Ferrie adds that farmers might want to do the late-season fungicide application to keep their corn crop standing until they can put their harvest plan in place.

“Be doing the push test to check stalk quality,” he advises.

Southern Rust/Silage Alert!!

Southern Rust has been aggressively advancing in many fields, especially those without a fungicide treatment. In some situations the plants are shutting down prematurely and plant material is senescing rapidly.

While we typically want to get down… pic.twitter.com/aK3hGgZE19
— Pioneer Troy (@deutmeyer_troy) August 26, 2025

Striegel says some of the farmers around him are heading to fields to harvest their silage corn sooner than later, because of standability concerns. “Some of this corn got planted early, and we had a lot of heat. The crop matured quickly, and the diseases are kind of shutting it down. It’s just dying out, and guys are going to go get it,” he explains.

That’s the strategy Ferrie encourages farmers to use in regular production corn, too.

“Harvest the fields most at risk first. But if a field of corn goes down, go combine the fields where the corn is still standing and come back to that one later,” he recommends.

The reasoning is you don’t want to risk more corn going down while you’re harvesting the field of corn that already has.

“While I was driving through Iowa last week, I kept thinking that if I built corn reels to pick up down corn I’d bulk up my inventory, because I know where they’re going to get used,” Ferrie says, only half joking. “Yes, harvesting corn at 25% moisture is expensive, but down corn will kick your butt.”

Your next read: Revenge Applications: Why They Don’t Work, Cost You Money and Bushels, and Are Frankly Illegal

New Tool Helps Farmers, Ranchers Identify Conservation Incentive Programs

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:49:38 GMT

Conservation incentive programs that fit your farm and specific agronomic practices and/or livestock are not always easy to identify and sign up for online.

But those hurdles could soon be problems in the past, thanks to a new online platform, the Conservation Connector, which was just launched this week by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC)

The new tool allows farmers, ranchers, and farm advisers to easily evaluate conservation incentive programs and connect with technical support at one online site, according to Ryan Heiniger, CTIC executive director.

As a fourth-generation farmer, Heiniger says he knows firsthand how challenging it can be to identify programs, companies and the individuals in charge of them who can provide more details in a phone call or an email.

“You might visit four or five government offices and a dozen websites, only to collect bits and pieces of information on those programs that would be a good fit for you. Our goal with the Conservation Connector is to bring all of that under one roof, so to speak, to help farmers, ranchers and advisers more easily find what is available in their area and fits with their needs,” Heiniger says.

The platform currently has around 500 programs and service providers in the Midwest that are participating, Heiniger says. He notes the tool is continually updated with the latest program offerings from trusted agencies, organizations and conservation partners. In addition, Connector.ag has no associated costs for farmers, ranchers and advisers to use.

“I want to underscore that it’s free for farmers; none of the information is behind any kind of paywall,” he says. “It’s also free for people who want to create a listing.”

The Conservation Connector is easy to navigate – it’s searchable by geography, commodity, incentive type, and/or management practice.

“We’ve made it easy for people who are on a specific mission to filter through,” Heiniger says. “You might be in New York looking for help with pasture renovation, and you don’t want or need to see what programs are available in Iowa. So, you can default right to New York. Or, you can default to a specific crop. The filters can help you ratchet down to the specific information you want to dive deeper into.”

Heiniger says the idea for Conservation Connector originated from Houston Engineering, the Nature Conservancy, and Open Team, and the CTIC invested the past 18 months in developing it.

CTIC invites farmers, ranchers, technical service providers, and conservation partners across the country to explore the platform at Connector.ag . You can provide feedback about your experience to help inform future iterations of the platform here .

Crops vs. Foliar Diseases: A High-Stakes Race Underway in Midwest Fields

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 02:17:44 GMT

Two words sum up the concerns Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts expressed about the corn and soybean crops they evaluated on Thursday in Minnesota and northeast Iowa: disease pressure.

Corn crops infected by southern rust and tar spot were a common sight in fields across both states during the fourth and final day of the tour.

“We saw disease in all of the fields we sampled today, though one of them really wasn’t too bad,” says Lane Akre, host of the eastern leg of the tour. “We saw a lot of early stages of tar spot, and we saw a lot of southern rust throughout.”

So it was no small surprise to the crowd attending Thursday night’s live broadcast when the final tally showed Pro Farmer’s corn estimate for Minnesota actually surpasses USDA’s 202-bu.-per-acre yield projection made August 12.

Pro Farmer estimates the Minnesota corn crop will average 202.86 bushels; that’s up 23.02% versus 2024 and up 13.41% versus the three-year average, according to Emily Flory Carolan, Pro Farmer Crop Tour data consultant.

“This crop is huge; it absolutely is,” Carolan says. “Minnesota is the only state on tour where we have recorded over a 200-bu. average this year. It is a record-year yield for the state.”

She adds that scouts recorded the longest grain inches in the crop that have ever been measured on the tour. “That’s definitely what pulled up that yield average for us,” she says.

Minnesota soybeans show similar yield promise, with final numbers pegged at 1247.86 pods in a 3' x 3' area. That’s up 20.38% versus last year, and up 19.9% versus the three-year average, Carolan reports.

(ProFarmer)

A Much Better Growing Season, So Far
The findings in Minnesota were a pleasant change from what scouts found in 2024, when weather seemed to jog between two extremes – drought and flooding – for much of the season.

Jaden Serbus, Pro Farmer tour scout and farmer based near Renville, Minn., says he was relieved to see Mother Nature had course corrected.

“Last year, the corn crop was only as high as my head, all yellow and stunted with very, very poor yields with all the rain,” Serbus recalls. “This year, many areas are like a garden spot.”

Minnesota District 8 & 9 (10 stops)
Nicolett, Le Sueur, Waseca, Steele, Dodge, Olmsted counties
🌱 Avg Pods in a 3X3 - 1262.80
🌽Avg Yield- 208.35#pftour25 @Feckersbrad73 pic.twitter.com/IklmOxDOTA
— McKenzie Feckers (@MFeckers) August 21, 2025

Northeast Iowa Crops Look Good, But…
As Akre and his team of scouts moved into northeast Iowa on Thursday morning, early yield estimates had Akre concerned results there could bring the state’s overall averages down.

“We saw a lot of drowned-out parts of fields, and that’s limited some of the ear size and counts as populations are down due to skips,” he says.

Despite some agronomic challenges, scouts recorded strong numbers that put the Iowa corn crop at 198.43 bu.-per-acre yield average for 2025. That’s up 2.93% versus last year, and up 6.4% versus the three-year average.

“This Iowa crop has a very, very strong ear count, great grain inches — just a very consistent equation putting that corn yield together,” Carolan reports.

Iowa soybeans are also looking to break yield records. The 2025 crop delivered a 1384.38 pod estimate average in a 3' x 3' area on Thursday; that’s up 5.49% versus last year and up 12.94% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Linn Co. Iowa. Lots of tar spot and rust. 46 avg ear count, pretty light, but made some big ears. Yield est 208.53 but still a long way to go grain fill wise#pftour25 pic.twitter.com/efDDM6sbBG
— Lane (@iwatchcorn) August 21, 2025

“For the most part, the Iowa beans are pretty lush and the pod counts have been there, the soil moisture is up, so the potential is pretty high on beans...I think that’s been the real story the last couple of days — how many pods are out there,” Akre says.

But foliar diseases rearing up in Iowa fields have the potential to put the kibosh on record yields between now and harvest, reports Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk and lead scout on the western leg of the tour.

That concern is one reason he reminded crop tour listeners on Thursday that Pro Farmer’s current yield estimates could change before combines roll.

“When we put the corn yield estimate out, it comes with a plus or minus 1%. The soybean crop estimate comes with a plus or minus 2%, and that’s because things can change. We all know that,” Flory says.

“The other thing is the yield models that we use give us a range, and then, based on conditions, we can move within that range with the yield estimate that we’re going to pull,” he adds, noting that he wonders whether the soil moisture currently available will offset some of the discount scouts put on the crops because of the disease pressure that’s present.

At the end of the day, August 21, no one knows how the final corn and soybean yields will net out. As Flory notes, while there’s optimism about better yields coming in this harvest versus a year ago, the outcomes depend on how well the crops cross the finish line.

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 3 Results from Illinois and Iowa

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 2 Results from Indiana and Nebraska

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 1 Results from Ohio and South Dakota

Iowa Corn Has High Potential, Illinois Crop Looks Average and Soybeans Shine in Both States

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 23:58:45 GMT

Bright orange is a great color for pumpkins but not so much for corn. Nonetheless, that was the prevailing color Brent Judisch reports seeing as he evaluated crops Wednesday morning in northwest Iowa’s Harrison County.

“Our first six or seven samples were terrible with southern rust,” says Judisch, a Pro Farmer Crop Tour scout and Iowa farmer. “We saw three fields in a row that were actually gross. I walked out of them just covered with it. After that, while we’ve seen it all day, it’s been more in the lower leaves and not nearly as drastic.”

Chip Flory, lead scout for the western leg of the tour, says the northwest Iowa crop is the best and worst he’s ever seen.

“In the snapshot that we took of it, and the measurables we saw in the field today, it is the best corn crop,” Flory reported during the tour’s nightly live broadcast.

But the disease pressure in the Iowa crop has Flory spooked.

“Disease pressure is putting a lot of bushels — a huge number of bushels — at risk,” he adds. “You can take 20, 30 bushels off of corn yield with what southern rust can do to the crop, even at this late stage in the game. It’s a dangerous crop that we’re looking at out here right now.”

Chip Flory says he was surprised to see corn that was well into R5 (dent) in northwest Iowa. “I can’t tell if it was this mature because of pressure from the southern rust, or if it was because of higher nighttime temperatures at pollination,” he reports. “I am concerned about how much disease is out here, and what it’s going to look like in another week or two.”

(Chip Flory, Host of AgriTalk)

Can The Iowa Corn Crop Still Hit A Record?
The Iowa corn results were a big shocker on Wednesday, given the amount of disease pressure scouts saw, according to Emily Flory Carolan, Pro Farmer Crop Tour data consultant.

“I would say all three districts were setting new records. They were consistently high in all measurements for corn in ear count, inches long and kernels around,” she says.

Carolan’s summary of the results scouts tallied in Iowa revealed some high yield estimates, despite the disease pressure:

*District 1 was 197.89 bushels, up 12.06% versus 2024 and up 9.89% versus the three-year average.

*District 4 was 207.25 bushels, up 5.82% versus last year and up 14.01% versus the three-year average.

*District 7 came in at 195.03 bushels, up 1.80% versus 2024 and up 6.35% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Flory is concerned southern rust will impact standability in the Iowa crop, which he says is starting to dent in areas, and cause some of it to go down.

“I’d want to keep an eye on the stalk condition of this crop, because if this disease pressure continues, farmers are going to want to get out and prioritize fields for harvest before we get there,” he adds.

Illinois Corn Crop Looks Average
Scouts report the Illinois corn crop appears lush from the road, but once they walked out into fields, picked ears and pulled back husks, most described finding an average crop.

“We’ve seen some good corn, we’ve seen some average corn and we’ve some stuff that’s got a long way to go,” tour scout Jake Guse told U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan on Wednesday morning.

That perspective played out in the total results tallied and shared during the nightly tour meeting. Illinois corn averaged 196.19 bushels per acre, down 2.24% from last year but up 1.72% from the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Ninth and final stop 4 miles North of Roseville, IL. Population was very good at 34,000. The yield is 213. Kernel depth is just under a 1/2 inch. Some disease was showing up here including tar spot! Soybeans had 1778 pods in 3X3 area. #oatt #pftour25 pic.twitter.com/xAcDSxJL0q
— Darren Frye (@Frye_WSS) August 20, 2025

USDA-NASS estimates released August 12 project the Illinois corn crop will come in averaging 221 bu. per acre for the state, up 4 bushels over 2024.

That’s outside what Guse’s expectations are for the state.

“As you’re driving along the road, you can see ears that are already tipped over. I just don’t see it reaching [USDA’s projection],” he says.

Lane Akre, Pro Farmer economist and host for the eastern leg of the tour, agrees with Guse. He reports pulling several samples of corn that exceeded 200-bu. per acre as well as one that only hit 143 bushels.

“The Illinois crop just wasn’t what we’d hoped,” Akre says. “USDA is anticipating a 1.7% jump from a year ago, and we’re actually down 2.2%.”

Akre’s leg of the tour went through three Illinois counties that are typically heavy hitters for corn yields: Bureau County, Henry County and Rock Island County.

“There’s really good dirt through that area, and the farmers there are very good at actively managing their crops and what they do with fertilizer, herbicide and fungicide,” Akre notes. “We saw some poor emergence and that might’ve weighed on the samples we took.”

Soybeans Could Be the Star of the Season
Soybeans offered a better yield picture for Illinois farmers than the corn crop, Akre notes.

“We didn’t have a single sample in the state that was south of 1,300 pods in a 3’x3' square. We saw a lot of pods and a lot of potential out there,” he says.

The average counts Illinois scouts recorded was even higher than what Akre found, with an average of 1,479.22 pods in a 3’x3' square area. That is up 4.24% versus 2024 and up 12.65% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Iowa soybean results across the three districts were equally impressive.

“This year’s crop is better than last year by far,” Greg Lehenbauer, Pro Farmer crop scout, told AgDay’s Michelle Rook. “They’ve had adequate rain across this part of Iowa almost all summer long.”

#pftour25 Day 3. Stop 2 Plymouth Co. IA. #Soybean pod count 816. @AgDayTV @FarmJournal @USFarmReport pic.twitter.com/GgmulwJ8UI
— Michelle Rook (@michellerookag) August 20, 2025

Carolan’s data confirmed the excellent soybeans that crop scouts found on Wednesday in all three districts:

*District 1 soybeans: 1,279.25 pods, up 15.38% versus 2024 and up 15.05% versus the three-year average.

*District 4 soybeans: 1,376.15 pods, up 9.73% versus 2024 and up 13.63% versus the three-year average.

*District 7 soybeans: 1,562.54 pods, up 14.37% versus 2024, and up 24.66% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

While Flory is cautiously optimistic about the Iowa soybean crop, he says stem rot and sudden death syndrome is taking root in more fields and threatening yield outcomes.

“Some of the routes through southern and west-central Iowa have seen a tremendous amount of disease issue on the soybeans, so I’ve got a feeling it’s going to look a lot different in a week than what it does right now,” he predicts. “Now, if it was September 10, that’d be one thing. But it’s August 20, and there’s still time for those bean diseases to take some yield away.”

Flory’s sentiment about what fields revealed in Iowa was shared by scout Brent Judisch.

“What it’s going to come down to here in the corn and the beans is, does the crop mature faster than the disease moves, or will disease outpace the crop?” Judisch says. “We won’t know for sure for another two or three weeks.”

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 3 Results from Illinois and Iowa

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 2 Results from Indiana and Nebraska

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 1 Results from Ohio and South Dakota

About the Pro Farmer Crop Tour
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour is taking place Aug. 18-21, 2025. Simultaneously, the tour follows an eastern and western route, with the two culminating in Rochester, Minn. Nightly meetings in each location review daily results, scouting observations and historical comparison data. Attend nightly meetings in person or watch the nightly broadcast online at AgWeb.com/croptour .