August 25, 2011

 

Weather stress cuts US Indiana corn crop

 

 

Indiana's corn yield forecast were far below average as rain-stalled planting followed by hot, dry weather sliced potential output in the country's fifth largest corn growing state, scouts said Tuesday (Aug 23).

 

Soy pod counts were also below average in Indiana, the No. 5 soy state, due to the crop-stressing weather across the eastern Corn Belt this summer that also weighed down crop prospects in neighbouring Ohio, scouts on the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour said.

 

Indiana's average corn yield was calculated at 143.1 bushels per acre (bpa) based on samples taken from 136 fields. That was down 14.3% from last year's tour estimate of 167.1 bpa and down 12.1% from the three-year tour average of 162.7 bpa.

Excessive spring rains and cooler-than-normal weather delayed planting in Indiana and much of the rest of the eastern Corn Belt by a month or more in some areas.

 

Once crops were finally planted, a severe heat wave stressed the crop, limiting yield potential, scouts said.

 

"The crop was planted in less-than-ideal conditions. It was too wet. But then after it was planted it got too dry so we lost kernels around (the cob) and we lost ear length because of the heat and the dry weather," said Mark Bernard, a certified crop consultant with the eastern leg of the tour.

 

"There's a lot of downside potential for this crop, but certainly no upside potential," he said.

 

Scouts found highly variable yields and highly variable crop maturity across Indiana, underscoring the season's weather adversity.

 

Some ears were large but not fully filled with grain, while other ears were filled fully but unusually short, both symptoms of heat and moisture stress, scouts said.

 

The average grain length of 5.89 inches was 6.5% below the tour's three-year average while the number of kernel rows around the cobs came to an average of 15.5, down 3.4% from the three-year mean.

 

Crop maturity was also a concern as corn in a few fields was planted so late that it had only just recently pollinated, leaving it at risk of frost damage this autumn, they said.

 

Soy pod counts were also dragged lower by this season's adverse weather, although the tour's soy findings were not down as drastically as corn.

 

The average number of soy pods per 3-by-3 foot square was pegged at 1,137.6 based on samples from 136 fields, down 8.2% from the tour's 2010 tally of 1,238.6 pods and down 8.6% from the three-year average of 1,244.1 pods.

 

The tour does not estimate yields for soy but instead counts the number of pods per 3-by-3 foot square to gauge yield potential.

 

Soy can still typically add to their production potential with timely rains in August, but it has been uncommonly dry in most of the state this month.

 

The USDA is currently projecting Indiana's corn yield at 150 bpa, down from 157 last year, and soy yields at 43 bpa, down from 48.5.