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As harvest starts, some positive reports from growers

Seven growers from Ohio to Maine chime in about their expected yields and crop quality.

Chris Torres, Editor, American Agriculturist

September 20, 2021

6 Min Read
corn silage being chopped and loaded into cart
TIME TO CHOP: A farmer in western Berks County, Pa., was busy chopping corn silage recently. Timing corn silage harvest is important for feed quality and packing. Photos by Chris Torres

No one knows for sure just how good or bad crop yields and production will be until the combines get rolling. And that time is coming soon.

But early word from farmers is mainly positive and may fall in line with recent USDA forecasts of record corn and soybean yields across the Northeast, Michigan and Ohio.

Here’s what some farmers across the region had to say about their crops thus far, and some things they did new this season:

Jim Hershey, Elizabethtown, Pa. “I’ll just say things are looking good, but my crop consultant found tar spot in my corn,” he says about his corn. “So there might be some management changes that have to go into effect for another year. It came on late, but once it’s here, it can be more pronounced, especially in corn after corn.”

For his soybeans, Hershey doesn’t like to predict anything and it’s still early, but he says enough rain in August will likely result in a good crop.

His says his winter wheat was “top notch,” with some of the wheat coming in at a 64-pound test weight. “I’m not sure the yield was quite tops, but the quality was the best I ever had,” he says.

Scott Miller, Elsie, Mich. Miller farms 2,400 acres, including 150 acres of wheat, and 1,000 acres each of corn and soybeans. Things have been pretty good for the most part, he says, though tar spot hit his corn hard.

“We’ve been hearing rumblings about lower test weight, high-moisture corn. Soybeans could be the best beans I ever had. The potential is out there,” he says.

His winter wheat was hit by drought early on and didn’t make average yield in most places.

One thing he tried new this year was relay cropping on a 20-acre parcel. Last year Miller planted winter wheat in 8-inch rows, and came back this spring and no-tilled soybeans in between the rows to get them started. He then cut the wheat above that.

“I’ve seen it for years in different parts of the country. It’s got enough of a promise that we’re going to do it again," he says.

manure being spread over farm land

Spreaders were busy emptying out manure storages on land surrounding the Kreider dairy complex outside of Manheim, Pa.

Chip Bowling, Newburg, Md. Things have been slow thus far in the combine for Bowling, who planted 450 acres of corn and 1,200 acres of soybeans this season.

The corn isn’t drying down as quickly as it normally does this time of year on his southern Maryland farm, but yields have been solid with the combine reading more than 200 bushels in some places.

“The corn crop here in southern Maryland looks exceptionally good,” he says.

Full-season and double-crop soybeans are also looking good, but like many growers, Bowling is hesitant to predict any sort of yield.

His wheat crop struggled to get going as cool, wet conditions slowed down planting this spring. Still, he says he’s pleasantly surprised by how it yielded. He’s even considering growing a more hard red winter wheat next year, as some local buyers are asking for it.

“We finally got some varieties that will yield well here, so we may try that,” he says. “We’ll plant as much cover crops as possible. Something we may do that’s different is carbon markets. We possibly might get into that. We’re doing some homework on that.”

Russ McLucas, McConnellsburg, Pa. McLucas growers 180 acres of corn, 80 acres of soybeans, 220 acres of wheat and around 150 acres of grass hay.

Silage is coming in about average this year, he says, with most of the crop being chopped at around 68% moisture with good quality.

His wheat crop was “really good” with a 60- to 62-pound test weight on average and no docks for vomitoxin. The first cutting of grass hay was good — and then the spicket shut off.

“It’s been dry. We got a little bit of second cut but not enough. It was what it was,” McLucas says.

Something new he rolled out this year was a 12-row Harvest International planter with “all the precision planting stuff on it.”

“We were very impressed with the planter,” he says. “A lot of things are hype and BS. This planter is not hype or BS.”

Meghan Hauser, Castile, N.Y. Fourth cutting was just placed in the bunks at Table Rock Farms. Hauser and crew grow 1,800 acres of corn and alfalfa to feed a herd of 1,150 dairy cows.

After two years of really short hay, Hauser says this year’s crop has been “amazing.” Corn silage chopping will start soon, she says, and thus far the crop looks good.

One thing her cropping crew started this year was planting green in spring, though she admits that the cover crops “got away from them” a little bit, making it tough to get silage planted.

“There is a lot of promise, and we keep learning about it,” she says. “We continue to learn. That’s the fun thing of farming.”

tractor driving over recently harvested corn silage

A farmer near Robesonia, Pa., works ground that was recently harvested for corn silage.

Ryan Crane, Exeter, Maine. Crane and crew grow 1,500 acres of potatoes and 2,100 acres of corn within a 200-mile radius in central and southern Maine. Corn and potatoes are grown in rotation, but some small grains — winter rye and oats — are mixed in, too.

Overall, corn is looking fairly good, he says. He plants a wide range of maturities, from 72- to 89-day varieties. He’s expecting 150 bushels in his 72- to 78-day fields, up to 170 bushels in his 80- to 85-day fields, and up to 200 bushels in his 89-day fields.

“On grain, it’s good to get it planted right. We do two fertilizer products at planting. Good seed depth, spacing. We really to keep the planter calibrated right,” he says. “We do some fertility in spring, then a sidedress blend based on soil sampling.” 

Potato yields are variety dependent, but Crane is expecting some fields to average 400 cwt in some places. “That’s pretty exceptional. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 450 in some places; 300 is usually doing good,” he says.

Steve Reinhard, Bucyrus, Ohio. Reinhard and his brother, Tim, run a seed and chemical business just outside Bucyrus near Toledo.

Like many growers, Reinhard says armyworm took a toll on his alfalfa fields this season.

He says soybean yields will be lower because of the cold, wet May. “They could not recover to full potential. Some of my best-looking beans had some sudden death,” he says. “In all, the beans will be average to slightly above-average, but not a huge crop.”

Some tar spot was found in his corn, but he doesn’t expect it to reduce yield.

“A little water damage early drowned out spots. I have heard some early-harvested test weights may be a little lighter than expected. It was very hot and dry in late August,” Reinhard says.

Crop tour

Penn State’s annual crop tour visited 110 corn and soybean fields across the state, sampling sites with typical management practices for their respective counties. This year’s crop, while variable from field to field and even within the same field, appears to be promising for yield and quality. For more information, go to Penn State Extension.

Here's some results per region:

corn yield estimates across Pennsylvania table

soybean pod estimates, condition estimates across Pennsylvania

 

About the Author

Chris Torres

Editor, American Agriculturist

Chris Torres, editor of American Agriculturist, previously worked at Lancaster Farming, where he started in 2006 as a staff writer and later became regional editor. Torres is a seven-time winner of the Keystone Press Awards, handed out by the Pennsylvania Press Association, and he is a Pennsylvania State University graduate.

Torres says he wants American Agriculturist to be farmers' "go-to product, continuing the legacy and high standard (former American Agriculturist editor) John Vogel has set." Torres succeeds Vogel, who retired after 47 years with Farm Progress and its related publications.

"The news business is a challenging job," Torres says. "It makes you think outside your small box, and you have to formulate what the reader wants to see from the overall product. It's rewarding to see a nice product in the end."

Torres' family is based in Lebanon County, Pa. His wife grew up on a small farm in Berks County, Pa., where they raised corn, soybeans, feeder cattle and more. Torres and his wife are parents to three young boys.

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