Michigan
Recent rainfall and warm temperatures throughout much of Michigan is helping soybeans, corn and other crops as the end of the growing season nears.

In his weekly Crop Advisory Team alert, Michigan State University extension educator Bruce MacKellar reported early planted short maturity soybeans have begun to mature. “Recent rainfall should be very beneficial in helping size the beans in the pods,” MacKellar reported. “Heat and drought stress in the R1 to R3 stages may have dinged yields here a bit from grower’s early expectations.”
According to MacKellar, some white mold is being found in irrigated fields, but it is less of an issue this year compared to normal. Farmers also should continue to monitor for sudden death syndrome, soybean aphids and spider mites.
According to the latest agricultural summary from the Michigan field office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), soybeans are filling pods in most fields and most early-planted fields are in R6. Japanese beetles continue to be the primary leaf feeder in the Montcalm area and bean leaf beetle is feeding in many other areas around the region.

Corn growth continues to be variable across the state. In central Michigan, many fields are in R5, while later-planted fields are in R2. Western bean cutworm and corn earworm is present in many fields and are feeding on ears. Corn silage harvest is just getting under way.

Most second-cutting hay harvest is finished and about half of the state’s third-cutting alfalfa crop is out of the fields.

MSU extension educator Paul Gross said “most farmers are reporting good yields. Hay growers are reminded to review their fall cutting schedule and allow for adequate regrowth before the alfalfa goes into dormancy. This will be important for good winter survival.”

By Shelly Strautz-Springborn
Michigan Correspondent

Indiana
Corn and soybean crops in northern Indiana look good but, statistically speaking, they are lagging considerably from last year’s figures released this week by NASS. For instance, 85 percent of the corn was in dough this week, compared with 95 percent last year or the five-year average of 88 percent.
With 2 percent of the soybean crop shedding leaves, compared with 12 percent for last year, 88 percent of the beans are setting pods while 97 percent are blooming, also down from last year.

Some cornfields are now reaching maturity and a few soybean fields have begun to turn color. Corn silage is being cut and seed corn is being harvested.
After a wet spring in which farmers struggled to get their crops planted, the state experienced minimal rain again last week. This resulted in 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork.

Major activities during the week included attending field days, applying insecticides, monitoring irrigation systems, mowing roadsides, caring for livestock and cutting and baling hay.

While the third cutting of alfalfa is 80 percent complete compared with 86 percent last year and 77 percent for the five-year average, much of it has been fed to livestock to compensate for pastures that have become inadequate.

Ann Allen
Indiana Correspondent

Illinois
It has come down to a wait-and-see for Illinois farmers regarding corn yield, though many don’t hold a lot of hope for a bountiful crop. The Aug. 29 Illinois weather and crops report, issued by NASS, showed little or no moisture in the central and southern portions of the state during the previous week, though some areas of northern Illinois received above-average rainfall to boost the state average to 0.54 inch.

Tim Lenz, a southern Illinois farmer from Strasburg in Shelby County, said his corn harvest will be very disappointing. “My crop is deteriorating pretty quickly. We haven’t had any rain since July 29,” said Lenz. “I would say that corn yields will be off about 20 percent from average. I have a few acres of April-planted corn that I might try to harvest (this) week.”

Peoria County farmer Jake Streitmatter said his corn harvest won’t fare much better. “It’s going to be disappointing over what we should have averaged,” said Streitmatter, who farms west of Sparland in northern Peoria County and planted the majority of his cropland corn-on-corn.

“The heat in July pulled the top end right out of (the corn). We’re tipped back about two inches on every ear and we’ve probably lost an estimated 60 bushels off our top-end yield. I’m hoping we can average 160 bushels, but I may be too optimistic.”

Under-filled pods and small beans were evident in a number of soybean fields across the state, according to NASS. Both farmers agreed. “Beans could be 50 percent or more below average,” said Lenz. “They haven’t had any rain to fill pods and are struggling just to stay alive.”

Streitmatter’s early-planted beans are also suffering in productivity from the arid weather conditions in July, though not to the extent of southern Illinois soybeans.

“The rain came almost too late, and (soybeans) are not looking good. We aborted a lot of pods and we have a lot of ones and twos. I don’t think we’ll have a soybean yield like we did last year, but we ought to have an average crop in the 45- to 50-bushel range,” he said.

NASS estimated 97 percent of Illinois corn was in the dough stage as of Aug. 29, 6 percent ahead of the five-year average, and that soybeans were setting pods at a 98 percent rate, 4 percent above the five-year average. Twenty-two percent of Illinois’ corn crop was rated poor or very poor, along with 15 percent of the state’s soybeans.

By Tim Alexander
Illinois Correspondent