Corn harvest has been lagging in the western corn belt as farmers have been waiting for the late maturing crop to dry down in the field. As of Tuesday’s USDA report only 10-percent of the corn was harvested in Iowa, 7-percent in Minnesota, 19-percent in Nebraska and 12-percent in South Dakota. Pioneer Account Manager Kevin Branick covers east central South Dakota. He says progress should start to pick up with more favorable weather. Moisture levels have already dropped more than 10-percent in the last week, boosting test weights into the mid-50s.
Branick says while farmers may want to leave corn in the field to dry down they shouldn’t wait too long. He says field losses can add up during strong wind events.
He says farmers also need to be checking fields for standability as stalk rot is already showing up in some corn.