Iowa’s premier weekly crop reports 10/12/2022

Emily Boettcher - Dickinson County
Northwest Iowa

Harvest is moving quickly in Boett­cher’s area. “We had a little slowdown Wednesday morning (Oct. 5) due to overnight rain and fog, but we’ll be back out there today,” she said Oct. 6. Soybeans are averaging about 8% moisture, leading to some shattering. Early silage appraisals on corn came in above average, giving Boettcher hope for decent yields.

Devon Murray - Floyd County
North Central Iowa

“Bean harvest is well under way...probably more than half done,” Murray said Oct. 6. “Corn harvest is a very slow start, as we’ve had a lot of wet corn.” Early yield reports are encouraging. “Beans are above average; corn’s going to be really good in the area,” Murray said. The area saw a frost scare a week ago that killed some corn. Harvest weather has been tremendous.

Ross Weymiller - Allamakee County
Northeast Iowa

Farmers have started harvesting soybeans, and early yield reports have been good, Weymiller said Oct. 7. There hasn’t been much corn harvested in the area yet. “Some corn is barely black-layered, so it’s a ways out yet,” he said. Grass is slowing down with cooler weather. “Pastures are starting to get a littte sparse,” Weymiller said.

Mike Dickinson - Harrison County
West Central Iowa

“Most of us have dipped our toes into harvest already,” Dickinson said Sept. 22. “I’d say the story right now is below average yields with variable moisture.” He said a lot of high moisture corn has been harvested by those who are able to dry it down. Dickinson harvested 100 acres of soybeans last week, then put on a cover crop mix of oats, turnips and radishes for fall-early winter grazing.

Jeremy Swanson - Webster County
Central Iowa

“I“Harvest is kind of slow,” Swanson said Oct. 6. “Beans are slow maturing. I think things will get going here now.” Late planting has pushed back the growing and harvest seasons. Early yield results show beans in the mid 50s to low 60s, and corn from 170 to 230 bushels per acre. The area received a shot of rain Oct. 5, and frost the week before dinged the beans. “It’ll hurt yields a little.”

Mike Hopper - Benton County
East Central

““We’re almost 50% done with soybeans. Yields have been excellent,” Hopper said Oct. 6. “We have some corn getting down below 20% moisture. I think as soon as we’re wrapped up with beans, we’ll be switching over to corn.” Soybean moisture has been around 10 to 11% but some stems are still green, he said. Cover crops are being seeded as crops come out, Hopper added.

Bret Hays - Mills County
Southwest Iowa

Hays is about 50% done with soybean harvest and has started on some early corn. “I don’t know where the yields are coming from since we didn’t get any rain this summer,” he said Oct. 7. His beans have averaged in the upper 60s bushels per acre while his first corn field produced 235 bushels per acre. “We’re going to run out of dry beans pretty quick,” he said.

Jeff Ridgway - Madison County
South Central Iowa

Combines are rolling now, with an estimated 30% of beans and 10% of corn harvested as of Oct. 6, Ridgway said. “Really the crops are pretty decent,” considering the area received no rain all of July. Beans are yielding in the mid 50s to 70 bushels per acre and corn from 150-240. “Everybody’s been holding off on corn because of the moisture content. It’s been a late harvest.”

Lucas DeBruin - Mahaska County
Southeast Iowa

“Beans are getting close to 50% done in the area, but corn still has a ways to go,” DeBruin said Oct. 6. “Guys are saying the beans are dry but there’s some green stems out there.” Yields are highly variable depending on rainfall received during the growing season, he said. “The general consensus is the poor spots are really poor but some of the better spots are doing really well.”.