Getting Things Wrapped Up
“I’m Ready To Get This Year Wrapped Up”
Trent Brandenburg wants to complete his soybean harvest and fall tillage to complete the outdoor part of this crop year. Marketing decisions and work on his implements in the machine shed continue all winter.
Trent is about a quarter done with his soybean harvest, with yields averaging 50-60 bushels per acre. Much of the crop has been too green to harvest, plus the much-needed fall rains have improved pod fill (the beans getting bigger in their pods) for increased yield. The killing frost before daybreak on Monday October 8 has stopped any further growth and made the stems of the bean plants softer and thus easier to combine. Trent does not anticipate much progress this week with rain forecast for most days.
Trent has completed his corn harvest with an average yield of about 125 bushels per acre. This is far below the yield of some recent crop years, but a still a crop size that would have been thought good not too many years ago. Most fall tillage on Trent’s farm ground was completed before the recent spate of rains. The freshly-tilled soil was thus able to absorb the rainfall better to help replace soil moisture lost in this year’s record drought.
More from The Field Report
From Drought To Ponding And Replanting
In barely months, Trent's challenges have gone from extreme drought to repeated ponding and replanting. Trent has replanted some corn and soybeans twice, only to have the ponding return yet again. "I don't think I will try to replant corn [...]
Corn And Soybean Planting Done, Some Germinated, More To Come
Trent Brandenburg is happy to have completed his corn and soybean planting by the 15th of May. "It's slow," he said, commenting on the germination delay by the recent cool temperatures. Moderately heavy rains the last few days have caused [...]
Worked Some Fields, With A Sunny Day Could Begin Planting
Trent Brandenburg has "worked a couple of fields, they're barely ready" after several days of rain last week. "If we get a sunny day tomorrow I could plant some," Trent continued. The long-standing extreme drought in central Illinois has been [...]