The corn and soybean harvest is running behind normal in the northwestern corn belt. USDA’s crop progress report showed corn at 2-percent harvested in South Dakota verses the 14-percent average. Monsanto Agronomist Jeff Spieler says despite some better weather for filling last week, it may be a couple of weeks before most of the corn is ready for harvest.
Soybean harvest in the state is also lagging at 7-percent verses the 22-percent five-year average. Spieler says despite the late maturity of both corn and beans he’s expecting some near record yields.
He says with the big corn yields he’s also concerned about stalk integrity issues. So farmers need to monitor that situation and schedule harvest accordingly.