“Corn Looks Real Good”

Corn is Well-Pollinated and Filling Out

Trent Brandenburg is pleased with his well-pollinated corn crop as the kernels are filling nicely. The abundant soil moisture has been ideal for corn development. There is some weed pressure on the crop because the chemical herbicide effectiveness was reduced slightly due to the frequent rains.

The soybean rows have grown shut and the plants are in full bloom. Continued temperatures ten or more degrees below normal have raised speculation that temperature-delayed crop development, with the coolness presaging an early frost, will reduce soybean yields.

Trent regards current corn and bean prices as “good, but not good enough” as the market prices remain below crop insurance levels. Near-term price variations respond to changing yield estimates and the larger export sales. Another local variable is how much rain falls on a specific acreage. In the past two weeks amounts have varied from a few tenths of an inch to three inches in different fields separated by only a mile or two. Some foliar fungus diseases have been noted, with occasional infections serious enough to warrant aerial spraying.