View From the Cab

DECATUR, ILL. (DTN) -- Ethan Zoerb doesn't mind suiting up to head to Washington, D.C., if he can talk about his favorite subject: corn.

The Litchfield, Nebraska, farmer spent most of this week on the Hill as part of a Nebraska delegation attending the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Corn Congress meetings to advocate for key agricultural issues and priorities. A desire to see year-round E15 sales sanctioned for all states topped his list of points to discuss with legislators during this trip.

"I also welcomed the chance to talk about the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) report with regard to pesticide use," said Zoerb. "I think it's important that policymakers hear from farmers who depend on these products and understand the steps we take to manage and use products with precision."

Zoerb took the opportunity to visit with legislators beyond his own state's boundaries, too. "Nebraska legislators know us well, and while we need to tend those connections, this was a chance to engage legislators who may not know corn quite as well and, in some cases, to step across the aisle to shed light on issues we care about.

"Every state has agriculture, but for many it is not their core audience. This was a chance to educate and inform those that may not hear from us routinely. Their votes are important and sometimes critical," he said.

Stuart Sanderson applauds that sentiment. The Madison, Alabama, farmer has made similar commodity group trips to the nation's capital over the years. He's long advocated the importance of calling on non-farm state legislators.

"Agriculture, as an industry, has a habit of preaching to the choir. I live surrounded by urban neighbors and I take every chance I get to talk about farming -- whether it is to an individual, a school class or a church group," Sanderson said.

"It's important to take time for those discussions and honestly, it's one of my favorite things to do. People can easily find so much misinformation these days. There's no substitute for one-on-one conversations to tell our story and make it real," he added.

Sanderson and Zoerb have been making time to participate in DTN's View From the Cab series this season. A regular DTN feature for the past 21 years, View From the Cab examines growing conditions, farm life and rural issues from two distinctly different regions of the country. This is the 14th installment of the 2025 series.

This week finds both farmers optimistic about their corn crop. However, they are experiencing very different growth stages that reflect the 1,000 miles that separate the farms. In Nebraska, some corn is just beginning to pollinate, while in Alabama, early planted corn has already begun to enter the dent stage.

Read on to learn more about what's happening this week.

STUART SANDERSON: MADISON, ALABAMA

Sanderson knows what it's like to be on the hot seat. "We've had a heat index of 110 (Fahrenheit) nearly every day of late. And it seems like forever since it has rained," said Sanderson.

Ordinarily, wishing for moisture would be like whistling an old song. But this year Henderson Farms was uncharacteristically wet in May and June. Getting the wheat out turned into a month-long slog. When all the insurance dates were passed and decisions made, Sanderson tallied prevented planting on 500 corn acres and 1,500 acres of soybeans (including wheat acres that would have been double cropped).

The other side of that story is the corn that did get planted and wasn't drowned out has benefited from the rainfall. Earlier worries about shallow rooting have mostly evaporated. "I really don't know if our corn could look any better than it does right now," Sanderson said.

The farm's early dryland corn has started the dry-down process and is nearly 80% dented, he noted. He estimated that combines could head to the field as early as mid-August to begin corn harvest.

"The double-crop beans really needed this heat. The oldest double-crop beans are nearly knee-high. Those planted near the end of June are just coming out of the straw," Sanderson said.

Last year, the farm had good success planting double-crop soybeans in 20-inch rows. But this year's wet conditions and delayed wheat harvest left a mere crack in the planting window. Any dreams of "plant it right" were quickly replaced with a "just get it done" attitude.

"Ground conditions were not good to plant. When we did get to roll, every planter we had went to the field. So, this year we've got some 20-inch rows and some 15-inch row soybeans," Sanderson said, noting they use a 30-inch planter with split-row capabilities.

Corn on this farm has stayed on 30-inch row configurations to accommodate multiple applications of fertilizer and micronutrients. "Farmers that have tried 20-inch row corn in this area put all their nutrients on right out of the gate. We prefer to micromanage the crop and make at least two Y-drop applications. Also, in our climate, corn can go from emergence to knee-high in about two weeks. We need that extra row width to get over the crop," he said.

The farm does have some irrigated acres, and those pivots are currently on their third pass for the season. That's also unusual since seven irrigation passes in a season is about the least Sanderson can ever remember prior to this year. "The most we've ever done was 17 passes," he said.

Typically, idled acres might be simply managed with herbicide to avoid weed seed build-up and then, strip-tilled in the fall. But this year, the soft ground took a beating from wheat combines. In those fields, a shallow vertical tillage pass (3-to-4 inches deep) is being used to smooth out the ruts and open the ground up so it can breathe, Sanderson said.

Cover crops might be an option for other areas of the country, but warm weather tends to make most cover crops grow too fast and so aggressively that they can be difficult to control. "From Oct. 1 through the end of December, we're still hanging out in the 70s with warm weather and moisture. Several years ago, we had farmers that tried tillage radishes, but they overwintered and were a real mess to clean up the following spring," he recalled.

This time of year, Sanderson starts eyeing the Gulf. Hurricanes can deliver all kinds of challenges. "We'll start watching soybeans closely. The threat of soybean rust years ago made us better soybean farmers by teaching us to utilize fungicides when needed. Sometimes stinkbugs need addressed this time of year, too," he said.

For now, John Baranick, DTN's ag meteorologist, said temperatures in mid-90s are pretty much guaranteed for this area for the coming week. "The mid-70s may be the lowest temps they see all week long," Baranick said. "This heat comes with humidity and anyone that lives in the Southeast knows that combination regularly leads to pop-up type thunderstorms in the afternoon. They usually miss, but if you get hit by one, it could be a significant downpour."

ETHAN ZOERB: LITCHFIELD, NEBRASKA

Warm, dry weather continued to push crop development in Nebraska this week, according to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Corn silking was reported to have reached 27% in the state, which is behind 45% last year and 32% for the five-year average. Condition across the state was rated as 56% good and 21% excellent.

Soybeans are also running a bit behind with 40% of the state's crop reported as blooming, behind 69% last year and 58% for the five-year average. Only 9% were reported as setting pods and condition was rated 25% fair, 56% good and 15% excellent.

That's consistent with Zoerb's assessment, although he was anxious to see how much crops had changed while he was in Washington.

DTN's Baranick said the coming week in the Litchfield area should deliver temperatures in the 90s F with a few days pushing close to triple digits. "There could be some showers from time to time, but the storm track should be off to the north, so there's only a passing shot at rainfall. Most likely, they'll be missed. Overnight lows will get a chance to cool off in the lower 70s, but it could start to be a little too warm overnight, as well," Baranick said.

Zoerb would like to see those nighttime temperatures stay moderate since a large percentage of his crop is at or close to pollination. Warm weather this time of year is no surprise in this part of the Corn Belt. It's a good reason to plant several different hybrids to widen the pollination window. The speed to flowering can vary among hybrids, even though they may be close in relative maturity.

"Tassels were just beginning to poke through when I left home this week," Zoerb said. "So, I'm sure the heat has kept moving the crop along.

"Right now, our big concern is Western bean cutworm. Dad has been in charge of counting moths this week and I think he's getting pretty tired of counting that high," he said.

This is the time of summer when moth flights typically peak, Zoerb noted. It's also time to begin looking for eggs on the top surface of the upper most leaf or look for larvae in or around the tassel.

"If insecticide treatment is required, it often conveniently coincides with fungicide application, and we are licensed to apply that through our pivots," he said.

For the coming week, Zoerb is excited to get the farm's new drone up to start spraying crops.

The week spent in Washington was fast paced. He might be used to heading to work at daybreak, but not in a business suit.

Zoerb serves on a NCGA action team that addresses how to best use checkoff dollars in communication and educational efforts. On the Hill, he met with legislators from Maine, Louisiana and Florida and felt the interactions were interesting and productive.

For other farmers who wonder about the importance of this work, he encourages them to get involved to experience it first-hand.

"If there's something you think needs to be changed in these efforts, be the change you wish to see," Zoerb said. "We are always looking for volunteers."

As a young farmer, he acknowledges that personal growth has come with these opportunities. While he doesn't have political aspirations, commodity association work has given him the courage to do things he might not have otherwise attempted, such as finishing out a local school board term.

"It's opened me up to network of people from across the country with knowledge of corn and that's something I can share within my state and locally," he noted.

The sacrifice of being away from the field for a week is eclipsed by the five little Zoerbs that await his return, though. "There's no better feeling in the world than having those kids attack me at the door," he said.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

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