Believe it or not, harvest is underway across Indiana. I wouldn’t say it’s in full swing, but some have started early. Purdue Extension Corn Specialist Dan Quinn told us in the Purdue Crop Chat Podcast, available now below, that he expects parts of southern Indiana to start moving in the next week or so, especially with the early planted corn. But other parts of the state are starting to move too.
“Some folks around campus here, I’ve talked to a few farmers, and they noted the basis has been really good. So, they actually can cover some of their drying costs if they’re able to harvest high-20 percent moisture corn. And some of these elevators have actually taken some higher moisture corn but that basis aspect allows them to get into some of these fields a bit earlier and cover some of that drying cost that they can have.”
Quinn says the majority of the corn across the state is in that R5, or dent, growth stage.
“And I would expect a lot of the corn, if it’s not already at black layer which is physiological maturity and the corn plant is done, if it’s not already there, it’s very close to being there. And once you hit that corn moisture, the kernel moisture, around 30 percent, it’s really based on the conditions after that and how quickly that grain will dry down. I expect later this week, we’re looking at 83 degrees as consistent temperatures for the rest of the week, I think that’ll help with some of this drying and I expect some guys starting to roll here later this weekend into next week, especially in the early planted corn.”
Purdue’s soybean specialist Shaun Casteel says he knows of some farmers that are pushing it a bit and harvesting early beans this week, but for the majority, “In terms of those that are planted timely, they’re dropping leaves now. We’re probably on the order of another 15-20 days on the early stuff. So, I’d say the last week of September certainly we’re going to have a good number of fields starting to pull the trigger.”
Join Quinn and Casteel for the Purdue Crop Chat Podcast. We discuss Indiana’s projected corn and soybean yields, 186 bpa for corn and a record 60 bpa for soybeans, as well as some tips as we prepare for harvest. The Purdue Crop Chat is available now below or wherever you listen to podcasts.