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| Early Indiana corn harvest may mean more for silage |
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| By SARA DRYDEN
Indiana Correspondent
Evansville, Ind. — The summer of 2007 is sure to be one for the record books. In Evansville, a new all-time record has been set of more than 30 consecutive days over 90 degrees.
Two-thirds of Indiana is in a moderate to severe drought, with the hardest-hit regions in southern and eastern Indiana.
“Drought has greatly affected soybeans and corn – corn more than beans,” said Richard Beckort, Purdue University extension educator for Jackson County.
The hot, dry weather has caused the corn to mature faster and pushed corn growth about a week ahead of the average time.
Farmers in the Brownstown area haven’t started harvesting yet for grain, but Beckort expects harvesting to be ahead of schedule.
In western Warrick County, Indiana farmers started harvesting last week. “The plants have shut down,” said Gary Michel, extension educator for Warrick County.
According to the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook, there may be some improvement of conditions in the eastern part of the state through the fall season. But southern Indiana’s drought is expected to persist or intensify.
In the month of August, southern Indiana received, at most, one to two inches of rain. “We count on the August rains to fill up the beans and the July rains to fill up the corn,” said Michel. “We didn’t really get much of any of this.”
According to USDA, at the end of August 34 percent of Indiana’s corn crop was considered in fair condition and 37 percent was good. Twenty-four percent was either poor or very poor. Forty-two percent of Indiana’s pastures are in very poor condition.
“Corn yields will be hurt from what they could have been,” said Michel. “But we’ll still have a crop of corn.”
Beckort said crop insurance adjusters are finding huge variations even in one field and definitely from field to field.
“A hillside in one field may be completely devastated, compared to the lowland of the field next to it. There are so many varied responses to the drought,” he said.
Many farmers in affected counties are giving up on their drought-stressed corn and soybeans for grain and chopping the plants for silage, especially in situations of low forage inventory.
Despite the effects of the drought on the southern Indiana corn crop, nationwide corn harvests are off to a good start. According to the AgResource Co., corn yields are running five to 15 bushels per acre above the hopes of the growers.
This farm news was published in the Sept. 5, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 9/5/2007 |
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