Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories following two Ohio growers before, during and after harvest.

Despite a wet spring that pushed 80% of Ohio’s corn and beans to be planted the last week of May, the growing season, to date, has been progressing nicely, says Gary Wilson, a retired OSU Extension educator from northwest Ohio.

As farmers prepare for harvest, Ohio Farmer caught up with the seventh-generation farmer, of Jenera, and Plain City grower Fred Yoder to hear about the season and harvest outlook. Both had their best yields last year and are aiming high again while farming with their sons, Mitch and Josh, respectively.

Wilson hopes for good fall

“Wood County was especially wet early in the season,” Wilson says. “But, as of right now, everything looks good, except for the price, which is going the wrong direction in many ways.”

Once the crop was in the ground, timely rains kept everything green. “Around the first week of August we got an inch and a half of rain, and that was a million-dollar rain compared to what the rest of the state is looking like, especially in the southeast,” says Wilson, who farms about 250 acres, collaborating with a neighbor using no-till in soybeans and light tillage with corn because of heavier clay soils.

In his area, fungicides were applied both on corn and soybeans, although some opted to skip, citing a perceived low threat of disease and tight profit margins. Wilson applied to soybeans, but not corn. “Drones have become increasingly popular,” he says.

Wheat yields were decent, and given the crop came off early — most before July 1 — several growers followed with a double crop of soybeans. “And they look good,” says Wilson, who opted to plant a field of sorghum-sudangrass for livestock feed.

It is a summer annual grass that will take the heat and is drought tolerant. “We call it cow candy,” he says. “I use that to feed cattle and sheep, and it has worked really, really well.”

He’s had some cooler mornings in mid-August with lows in the 40s. “We’re hoping for a good fall to finish it out and bring it all in.”

Yoder ‘pretty happy’ with crop

With a home farm west of Columbus and another farm south of Plain City, Yoder says, “I think it's going to be a decent crop, but we’re dry, especially south, but not nearly as bad in Circleville or Pickaway County where they are burning up. It’s not going to be a bin-buster like we were hoping for, but we had good emergence, we have the counts, and the corn has nice-size ears. I'm afraid it's not going to fill out on the tip because it’s lacking moisture. But I’m pretty happy with it. … It looks pretty darn good.”

The Yoders, who splits their 1,600 acres between corn and soybeans, put three-quarters of their beans in before corn. Yoder and his son, Josh, utilized two planters this year.

“Last winter we bought an old planter, and being a precision planter dealer, we bought new parts for it, basically making it a brand-new planter,” he says. “One reason we planted the beans first is because that planter wasn’t quite ready.”

They planted 15-inch row soybeans and 30-inch row corn using the 40-foot planters. “In the past, when we had two switch between crops, it was like a NASCAR team,” Yoder adds. “We got pretty good at it, but this is more efficient.”

CORN AND SOYBEAN FARMER: Plain City grower Fred Yoder is expecting a “decent crop” this year, despite dry conditions. (Photo courtesy of Fred Yoder)

They essentially had two planting seasons, one in mid-April, which was followed by about a month of rain, before they were able to resume in mid-May and finish May 23. “The early-planted corn had to pollinate in 90-degree weather, and we’re afraid that’s going to hurt it, but looks like the late crops pollinated really well,” Yoder says. “If we get enough rain to finish it out, I think it’s going to be just as good or better than the early-planted crop.”

A new problem surfaced this year, not traditionally prevalent on their farm: waterhemp. “I don't know where it came from, but we have waterhemp, which required an extra spray just to control that,” Yoder says. “We used Liberty, but it just ticked them off. … It didn’t really kill them. We’re hoping it will keep them from going to seed.”

Fungicides were applied and mixed with an insecticide to control beetles. “We believe the best way to use a fungicide is before you have a problem, and the benefit goes beyond protection, it keeps the crop greener longer by helping the plant to utilize moisture,” he says, while also noting a few farmers have opted not to spray because of cost. “Josh is good at crunching numbers, and he felt we couldn’t afford not to do it when we’re aiming at increased bushels to help offset current markets.”

Two drones sprayed all the corn in a day, while the Yoders used their own rig to spray beans. “Drones are going to be a big part of agriculture in the future,” Yoder says.

Because of the late-planted corn, they are considering using drones to seed a cover crop a week or two before harvest.

The Yoders have been no-till for 30 years and started incorporating cover crops 10 years ago. “We had such heavy cornstalk fodder on the fields, we had to put row cleaners on the soybean planter just to get through,” he says. “But we remain committed to the no-till system.”

Looking ahead to harvest, Yoder sees storage being a premium, and potentially the need for flat storage. “It’s not a good situation with current prices and the carryover from last year,” he says. “People are trying to figure out how to survive. We think we’re going to have a good-average crop, maybe slightly better. … And we’re going to need it.”