Minnesota Corn Growers Association
By Jonathan Eisenthal
Around Minnesota, farmers scouting their fields in the last week of August foresee a larger than average crop following near-ideal conditions throughout this year’s growing season.
Drought to the south, in Iowa, and reaching up into the southern tier of Minnesota counties are an unfortunate exception to those ideal conditions.
“It’s looking really good here,” said Les Anderson, who farms in Welch, southeast of the Twin Cities. Anderson serves as president of Minnesota Corn Growers Association. “The crop got a little dry over the last week, with the high temperatures and the wind. It would be nice to keep some rain coming.”
The crop got off to an early start, noted Angela Guentzel, who farms with her dad and her brother in Kasota, between St. Peter and Mankato.
“Planting this year was great, but right after that we had a cold front, so seed just sat in the cold ground for a while,” Guentzel recalled. “It affected emergence and stand count. But the growing season, especially compared to last year, was really good. We are optimistic about what yields look like. Corn is already well dented. So, it’s going to be an early harvest. We’re picturing mid-September, it will be pretty much go-time.”
That is almost a month earlier than the start of harvest in 2019, Guentzel said.
Jocelyn Schlichting Hicks, who farms in the central Minnesota city of Rice, said her family’s dry edible bean crop is coming out now, and potatoes and corn look to also be ready several weeks ahead of usual.
“The heat was just right this year, that’s why the corn crop looks so good,” said Schlichting Hicks.
Guentzel and Schlichting Hicks are new members of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association board of directors, as is Dave Vipond, who farms in northwest Minnesota, near Mahnomen.
“This looks like one of our bigger corn crops,” said Vipond, who farms with his two sons. He credits planting several weeks earlier than usual, and a good number of heat units throughout the season, for the prospect of a good yield this year. Vipond’s rotation is one half corn, one quarter soybeans and one quarter dry edible beans.