Harvest is in full swing here in Michigan. According to Monday’s crop progress report, 4 percent of the state’s corn and 13 percent of soybeans have been harvested.
Pioneer agronomist Gary Brinkman is expecting some corn fields to yield upwards of 200 bushels, but there’s a lot of factors that chipped away at yield.
“Hot, dry weather in August, for a great portion of the state, we saw some ears droop that caused the shank to pinch and stop nutrient flow which leads to a raspy ear which reduces yield potential,” he said. “In some areas of the state we saw some tar spot come in.”
On the positive side, Brinkman believes growers will see above average soybean yields.
“We will see some 45 to 55 [bap] common, but I know we’ll see some 65, 75 plus bushel soybeans, namely because we have no white mold for the most part,” he said.
Brinkman is expecting some of the later soybean varieties will out yielding some of the earlier varieties by a significant amount.
“Mainly because of when the rains came, but I think in general, we’re going to see some great yields in soybeans, some good yields in corn,” said Brinkman.
