The race is on toward good yields in some parts of the eastern Corn Belt. In areas where replanting or late planting occurred, there could be a race against the calendar to see if corn matures ahead of frost. In the Crop Watch field, both races are going full bore. The majority of the field, planted April 27, is looking like good corn. In a few areas, the stand was thin due to cool, wet weather after planting. The farmers spotted in corn in the thinnest areas. That corn wasn’t planted until near the end of May because the field was too wet for fieldwork during most of May.

ESTIMATE YIELD: You may want to take into account planting dates, spot-in dates for thin areas and other information when estimating final corn yield for the Crop Watch ’16 field.

Dave Nanda, crops consultant with Seed Consultants Inc., sponsor of the Crop Watch ’16 project, says how yield turns out will depend upon weather through the rest of the season. While it’s not a pretty field from a farmer’s point of view, it’s a field that offers lots of opportunities to learn. Will late-planted corn contribute to yield or act like weeds? Nanda says there could be some of both. Time will tell, with weather being the deciding factor, he says.

Enter and win

Seed Consultants Inc. will provide valuable seed prizes consisting of several bags of free seed corn for 2017 to the top three finishers in the yield-guessing contest. Number of bags awarded will be eight for first place, six for second and four to the third-place finisher. Winning entries will be determined by which is closest to actual yield to the nearest tenth of a bushel per acre.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  A purchase does not improve your chances of winning.  Contest open to legal residents of Indiana and/or Ohio who are 18 or older.  To enter, send your guess of the final Crop Watch yield to Indiana Prairie Farmer, P.O. Box 247, Franklin, IN 46131, or enter by email at [email protected]. All entries must be received by Sept. 15, 2016.  Winner is entrant closest to final yield for the Crop Watch field.  Void outside of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia and where prohibited by law.  To obtain Full Rules, visit farmprogress.com/cropwatchcontest.