Interesting crops observation

Been driving through southern MN and northern IA prime farm land these last weeks and have seen some interesting things. The first is most of the corn and soybeans have a strip in the end rows that is much shorter than the rest of the field. I'm sure it's from the compaction from turning on the ends of the fields as it's a few rows in from the edge right where the combines and tractors would turn. It's really noticable this year. I'm sure there is usually a little difference, but in that area most years everything is so even and nice you wouldn't notice. This year it's plain to see and in all crops and it's wide spread. I would expect to see a lot of farmers out there with deep tillage tools trying to fix that this fall. Also saw a lot of yellow looking corn. Every minor flaw in the field is easily seen this year. Both hills and low spots are poor. I'm wondering if it's dry enough now for them to be hurting or is it clay on top of the hills that was too wet?

Anyway, those are my observations. Poor years really mark the poor spots in the fields.
Other than that I was impressed with how good things looked, not as good as usual, but not terrible either.

I?ve seen a lot of weeds and small oats in upper Minnesota river valley and around the Slayton area the past month. Many acres not planted. Seems like 0-50 miles from SD is a rough area over there. Drive 5 miles and see good crops, drive the next 5 miles and see more young oats than row crops... repeat.

I think a lot of corn is suffering from lack of nitrogen here in southern MN. The roots didn?t grow well, the water flushed a lot of N deep, together the corn isn?t finding enough N. As you say it really shows on the end rows, the companion makes it all worse. We?ve had 2-4 years of too wet around here now, it?s jist building up on us.

Weather app says 0% chance of rain, the second micro burst downpour is just starting here, I?m trapped in a Dairy Queen for a while. Temp is in the 60s, we aren?t getting any sun or heat for any of this late planted crop to mature.

Every year is different, what I like about farming, but maybe some normal would be different for a change?

Paul

Around here the first row of anything around the outside is always about half height. Usually takes about 8 rows for the crops to reach full height.

The strips in the end rows are probably the result of compaction from manure hauling. When the ground is wet compaction is much worse. The yellow corn is from nitrogen deficiency. The rains last spring took a lot of nitrogen too far down into the ground for the corn roots to find. Top that off with compaction that prevents the roots from going deep and shallow roots because the corn didnt have to go down searching for moisture during the growing stage and you have corn that is underfed. When corn gets to the ear making stage it quits making roots and concentrates on making the ear. At that stage everything goes into the ear. I see a lot of brown lower stalks in areas that were too wet last spring. The brown stalk comes from the corn plant cannibalizing itself for nutrients.

Most farmers don"t have livestock anymore, so I don"t buy the manure hauling issue. We"ve taken a couple of trips this year...UT,AZ,CA, UT and back a different route- NE to SD, MN the first week of June. Saw 3-4 planters from NE to SoMN...many unplanted fields.

MN to Branson mid July, along I35. So many unplanted fields, planted corn, only a few tasseled by mid July. Many bean fields just emerged.

Ag secy came to Farmfest in MN early Aug- said the crops looked good...well, ok, a bit west they had flood issues! Sure, crops looked good, for early July! Extremely late, many PP acres,

Acres and acres will be crap if we get a killing frost before late Oct. With so many farmers not having livestock, they will have no salvage value in a soft crop. And the beans will be BB"s.

I love that twister of a last line- "some normal would be different for a change"! Sort of reminds me of Yogi Berra.
I'm afraid erratic might be the new normal.
I've spent 40 years building something from nothing, and would really like to pass it on. But I'm beginning to think it would be unkind to saddle a grandchild with a cash crop farm in this climate. Use the term climate any number of ways.

Farming is becoming mental cruelty.

I have asked the same question because I do not believe the compaction theory.

You see shorter or noticeable differance in the end of field crops around here.
It not only happens in the rows at the side of the field but in the headland or the end of a middle row where the headland is not planted.
The problem with the compaction theory is you do not see it in the headland or ends of middle rows where 2 fields owned by the same farmer are only separated by a ditch.

I have some with the ends messed up. The outside 4 rows are good and the next six really show it. I have one field that is shaped like a half moon and it is really bad. Compaction from the first pass with the disk. I knew it was to wet but we had hauled manure when it was frozen and if you do not open the ground up some it will never dry out. Going to chop that field and then rip the headlands before planting rye. Next summer after rye harvest will get oats and tillage radishes. Tom

I just got in from walking some bean fields and chopping out some weed escapes with a hoe. Must have walked through 30 acres in two different fields. I was surprised how poor my beans are. They look better then that from the road but now that I been in them, it is disappointing. Lots of places they aren't even knee high.

(quoted from post at 13:24:10 08/27/19) Most farmers don"t have livestock anymore, so I don"t buy the manure hauling issue. We"ve taken a couple of trips this year...UT,AZ,CA, UT and back a different route- NE to SD, MN the first week of June. Saw 3-4 planters from NE to SoMN...many unplanted fields.

MN to Branson mid July, along I35. So many unplanted fields, planted corn, only a few tasseled by mid July. Many bean fields just emerged.

Ag secy came to Farmfest in MN early Aug- said the crops looked good...well, ok, a bit west they had flood issues! Sure, crops looked good, for early July! Extremely late, many PP acres,

Acres and acres will be crap if we get a killing frost before late Oct. With so many farmers not having livestock, they will have no salvage value in a soft crop. And the beans will be BB"s.

Click to expand...

In norhwest Iowa there is tons of livestock. So much livestock that the price of manure is coming down. Pretty soon there wont be enough land to spread the manure on. So the end row compaction from manure hauling can be very real.