Dryland Corn Yields Shine

By Katie Micik
DTN Markets Editor

SURPRISE, Neb. (DTN) -- Monday finally felt like a harvest day in southeast Nebraska: overcast and windy with temperatures in the mid-60s.

"If you had told me we'd be done with harvest before Halloween, I wouldn't have believed you," said Geoff Ruth, who farms with his father, Bart, in Butler County.

Harvest usually lasts into mid-November, but they'll be finished on Thursday. This year's mild autumn -- they haven't had a hard freeze yet -- seems to be an extension of the nearly ideal weather they've had this growing season.

The first stretch of 90-degree weather didn't come until September, and rainfall totals were 4 to 6 inches above the 10-year average, depending on the field. They went the whole summer without a heatwave, dry spell or deluge.

"I'd say we're in a bit of garden spot," Bart Ruth said.

This year's dryland crop is outstanding, he said, averaging 215 bushels per acre. Although irrigated yields were more typical at about 230 bpa, his whole-farm corn yield average will likely be a record. Moisture is averaging around 14% with test weights of 62 pounds per bushel.

USDA estimates that Nebraska farmers will harvest an average of 184 bpa, higher than the "I" states and 5 bpa more than last year.

Bart Ruth maneuvered the combine through an irrigated field that's bordered by a few acres of CRP. It's some of his poorer soil, but the yield monitor rarely flicked below 210 bpa.

"Don't take pictures of this," he said as he drove through a patch of downed corn stalks.

All of this year's moisture took a toll on the stand, and he estimated between one in 10 and one in 20 stalks in this field bent under the weight of the ear. Much of it fell during a stretch of windy, warm days in September.

Stalk quality issues were most prominent in his irrigated fields, even in ones that received a fungicide application. "I think they just got too much water," Bart Ruth said.

The Ruths pushed the plant populations on their irrigated fields this year, but smaller ears kept yields in check. They only ran their pivots three or four times this summer, which, along with $2-per-gallon diesel, slashed their fuel bill.

All that water and vegetative growth led to one of their best corn silage harvests, with their top field averaging 36 tons per acre, Geoff said. They planted a silage-specific variety of corn and pushed their plant populations, with their highest field topping out at 39,000 plants per acre.

It was muddy during silage harvest in early September, but every year the Ruths plant a cover crop mix of rye, turnips and radishes. Bart Ruth said he pulled a radish that was more than a foot long the other day, adding that it will help break up any compaction. They'll plant soybeans on that field next spring.

Geoff Ruth said it felt like summer for much of this year's soybean harvest. A stretch of 90-degree, windy days caused soybean moisture to drop from 13% to 7.5% seemingly overnight. While that caused some harvesting issues like shattering, the overall yields were still pretty strong.

They only watered irrigated beans once, and yields averaged 70 to 75 bpa. Their non-irrigated fields came in at 60 to 65 bpa.

Rabbits and raccoons scattered across the 140-acre field as Bart Ruth drove the combine through the last strip of corn on Monday. If all goes smoothly over the next few days, they'll be finished before Geoff's children don their Halloween costumes.

While most of this season has been a treat, it's not without a trick.

"It might be our best year as far as yield, but not profit," Bart Ruth said. With local cash corn bids at $3.45 and the market generally stuck in a sideways trading range, the market seems to be the only ghoul at this year's harvest party.

Katie Micik can be reached at katie.micik@dtn.com

Follow Katie Micik on Twitter @KatieMDTN

(AG/BAS)

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