(Lakefield, Mn.)– A local ag expert says combines could be rolling through some soybean fields already in the next two to three weeks. Jim Nesseth of Extended Ag Services in Lakefield, Minnesota says the crops are quickly approaching maturity…
“Well I’d say the corn is probably, you know, we’re a lot at that cutting silage here, at 60, 65 percent moisture kind of depending on what part of the field they’re taking it from, but I’d say we’re probably 10 days to maybe two weeks from black layer on most of our farms and fields. It just kind of depends on the maturity of the corn. And soybeans, you know, they’re starting to turn. There’s an occasional field that’s yellow but no leaf dropping yet. I think we’re probably a couple weeks there from harvest on some of those earlier maturities.”
Nesseth says that’s pretty much on target with historic averages…
“Clay County Fair time, you know, that’s usually when we see the beans starting to turn and that’s what’s going to be happening I think this year, and so I think we’re basically on schedule and this corn is going to come on fast, I think, as far as maturing and so frost danger, I just don’t think that’s going to be an issue unless something drastic happens here. But I think overall we’re in pretty good shape in the timeframe of fall harvest.”
Nesseth adds that he’s optimistic we’ll once again see some good yields at harvest, but he says they’ll likely be less than last year…
“I feel pretty good about our corn crop. I think it’s going to be pretty decent. I don’t know if it’s going to be as good as last year in some cases, particularly in the counties west of us they had a really good crop last year, and of course last year we had some crazy high soybean yields, you know, 65, 70 bushels. I don’t know if we’ve got that type of potential yet out there, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Nesseth says trying to predict soybean yields can be especially tricky.
