Planting Corn Through May Still has Solid Yield Potential

If you haven’t planted corn, north central Indiana Pioneer agronomist Brian Early says your yield potential hasn’t fallen off yet.

“We’re all kind of seasoned to think corn yield will fall off dramatically as we get through May, but just looking back we’ve planted late so many times the in the last 10-12 years that we’re really good at it. We get a lot in, especially when it’s fit. I can’t really say yields have been that negatively impacted. I would say more times than not our best yields come out of April, but we planted a lot of corn the last two weeks of May and that’s been some of the best yields we’ve had too. As long as we can avoid doing it in June, I wouldn’t say we’d have much yield loss at all.”

Early adds this wet weather will often times have farmers asking themselves if they should consider switching hybrids to an early corn.

“History has told us time and time again that, if at all possible, if you can dry wet corn, holding on to those full season hybrids will almost always reward you in the yield department.”

Early also discussed with HAT this year’s wheat crop. He says, overall, it’s in good shape.

“One thing I am concerned about with wheat is that we’ve had a lot of rain come up from southern systems and that tends to drag rust up with it. So, in northern Indiana, a lot of flag leaves are just now starting to come out, so this year probably more than ever, I’d recommend a good fungicide treatment for it. If we keep this moisture around that’ll increase our risk for head scab as well. So, with the price of wheat and how well the crop has tillered and it’s in great shape, I think it’s worth spending the money on wheat this year because it sure looks like the income potential is there with it.

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