After a devastating 2024, South Carolina corn farmers are preparing for another challenging year in 2025. But the state’s corn and soybean specialist encourages them to stick to the fundamentals.

“As we move into 2025, our budgets are extremely tight, especially when we factor in our fixed costs,” said Michael Plumblee with Clemson University Extension at the North Carolina Corn and Soybean Growers meeting. “Inputs are still high. It’s going to be challenging.

“Let’s do what we know works. We want to make sure we are capturing our low-hanging fruit,” by minimizing risks and setting realistic goals.

“Make sure we are fertilizing for our realistic yield goal. Avoid some of these automatic sprays that we’re not 100% sure that we are actually picking up yield on or not,” Plumblee said.

Fertilizing corn

Fertility tends to be a high input cost in corn. Plumblee said there is great value in testing the soil to know when to fertilize.

He also said applying lime to maintain the proper pH is a good call. And applying phosphorus and potassium, as well as starter fertilizer, at planting is critical.

“Fertilize our macronutrients for a yield goal. Split-apply our nitrogen. Anything we can do is obviously going to be valuable,” Plumblee said.

As for soybeans, soil testing is just as important as it is for corn. Apply lime to maintain the proper pH. Apply the recommended phosphorus and potassium adjusted for your yield goals. And if you haven’t planted soybeans in a field for three years, use an inoculant. “That’s cheap insurance,” he said.

Related:Economist offers tips to get through a tough 2025

As South Carolina corn farmers are keenly aware, 2024 was a bad year across the state. There was limited or nonexistent rain up to tasseling in most areas, and the corn crop survived on pop-up showers. Plumblee said there were also issues with herbicide activation.

USDA projected a South Carolina corn yield of 90 bushels per acre for last year, down 60 bushels from an impressive yield of 150 bushels per acre in 2023.

Plumblee said 2023 was probably the best corn yield South Carolina has ever seen.

Soybeans, on the other hand, fared better than corn in South Carolina in 2024. Plumblee said yields were decent to average, and the tropical storm helped farmers make more soybeans than expected. USDA projected a soybean yield of 35 bushels per acre in 2024, compared to 39 bushels per acre in 2023.

“We came out a little better than I was thinking we would,” Plumblee said. “I’ve seen a lot of low test weights [in 2024] with all of the rain that we had. I’ve seen a lot of 48- to 50-pound test weights coming out of the field, so that definitely hurt yield in that respect.”

Related:Can I afford to construct on-farm storage?