Indiana
With 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork last week, harvesting of corn and soybeans got under way, often in a cloud of dust thanks to recent dry weather.

According to the Indiana Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), corn harvest is progressing at a near-record pace. With 91 percent of the crop in dent stage, compared with 38 last year and a 46 maturity average, harvest season began early.

Chopping corn for silage has been a challenge for some livestock operations because moisture content fell to unacceptable levels.
Rain at the end of the week isn’t expected to hamper the harvest and may benefit late-planted beans. By that time, 39 percent of the bean acreage was shedding leaves, compared with 5 at this time last year and 15 for a five-year average. Soybean condition is rated 51 percent good to excellent, compared with 63 last year.

The third cutting of alfalfa hay is 94 percent complete, compared with 81 last year and 88 for the five-year average.

Overall, crop conditions are mostly fair to good. Fourteen percent of the corn is said to be in excellent condition, while 12 percent of the soybeans earn that rating. While basically poor to fair, pasture conditions aren’t good, with only 1 percent of them being listed as excellent. Some livestock operations have begun augmenting pasture with baled hay.

In addition to field crops, apple harvest has begun at some orchards.

Major activities last week included preparing harvest equipment, harvesting seed corn and silage, cleaning grain bins, cutting and baling hay, mowing roadsides and ditches and caring for livestock.
By Ann Allen
Indiana Correspondent

Illinois
While the corn harvest is officially under way and soybean fields are starting to turn in most Illinois regions, some fields in northern Illinois remain weeks away from harvest.

University of Illinois extension specialists report the crop has matured a great deal over the last few weeks, but “full harvest” is still several weeks away, they said. Harvest has focused on the shorter-season hybrids (around 103-day corn), with moisture reports in the low 20s.

Many of the full-season hybrids have not quite reached black layer, especially in the northern half of the region. The windy days early in the week caused some corn to start to go down in some stressed areas.

It’s also reported many farmers are taking advantage of the good weather to do some fall tillage as soon as fields are harvested, to avoid a repeat of last year.

Many soybean fields are turning and shedding leaves, but producers will be combining corn acres before many soybeans are ready for harvest.

The Illinois NASS reported 7 percent of the corn crop has been harvested this week, compared to the long-term average of 2. Fifty-seven percent of the state’s corn is now considered mature, well ahead of the usual 24.

Seventeen percent of soybeans are dropping leaves, compared with the usual 10. The soybean crop is rated 63 percent good to excellent.
By Karen Binder
Illinois Correspondent

Ohio
In Ohio, apple and peach growers are ecstatic about their crops, and why not? Ninety-five percent of apples have been harvested and 93 percent of peaches have been taken from the trees. Both percentages are slightly above last year’s readings at this time.

But no one could be happier in Ohio than the corn growers, where corn for silage is 53 percent harvested, compared to just 20 last year. Eighty percent of corn was dented, compared to 49 last season. And 96 percent of corn was in dough, compared to 81 this time last year.

“We’re way ahead of schedule,” said Butch Schappacher, who tends 150 acres of corn in Warren County. “Sweet corn came in two weeks early and field corn is right behind. I have guys in the field tending to it right now.”

According to Ohio NASS reports, hot and dry conditions this past week allowed for time in the field, but kept most on the dry side.

“Weather towards the end of the corn season has been a bit hot and dry,” Schappacher said. “The ground dried a bit quicker than it should have and it may have hurt the late-planted corn a bit. Overall it’s been a very nice corn growing season.”

Soybeans were rated 74 percent in fair-to-good condition, with 8 dropping leaves. Ninety-one percent of the third cutting of alfalfa hay was complete, as well as 34 of the fourth cutting. Both cuttings are nearly 10 percent ahead of both last year and the five-year average.

Despite dry conditions, cucumbers in this state are progressing well, with 95 percent harvested. The potato harvest is at 60 percent, while harvesting tomatoes were 26 percent harvested.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Wilmington reports that northwestern Ohio was the wettest part of the state this past week with nearly a half-inch of rain, while west-central and southwestern Ohio received just under a half-inch of rain. In northeastern Ohio roughly one-third inch of rain fell.
By Doug Graves
Ohio Correspondent

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