HANCOCK COUNTY — The corn and soybeans Joe Paxton is raising between Maxwell and Pendleton are looking a lot better than the 2019 crop.
“Last year was one of the worst years I’ve ever had in 50 years of farming,” he said, referring to the abundance of rain that delayed planting, shortened the growing season and hurt harvests.
Recently, his crops actually could’ve used some rain, he added.
“But it looks like we’re going to have above-average yields,” he said.
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Other Hancock County farmers and agriculture professionals are feeling similarly good in the weeks ahead of harvest season. That sentiment is echoed across the state and the country.
Paxton said some machinery in the area will be heading into fields starting the third week of September, but he won’t be full steam ahead until probably after Oct. 1.
While this year was drastically better than last, he said his crops did get a little too much rain over Independence Day weekend. That effect has lingered.
“It all went to low spots and caused some water damage that you really can’t see from the road, but it’s out there,” Paxton said. “…But we were used to that a year ago.”
Jonathan Sparks, a Hancock County corn and soybean farmer and a board member for the Indiana Farm Bureau, said he also anticipates an above-average harvest for himself and other producers in the area.
“I think we’re at the point now where we could use a rain to help finish up some stuff,” Sparks said. “…The potential’s there to have as good a crop as we’ve had in a couple years.”
The earliest soybeans he planted are just starting to turn yellow, he said, adding they’ll probably be harvested starting closer to the end of the month.
Some hot and dry spells over the summer may end up having an impact on crops, Sparks said.
“We’ve had a lot worse summers,” he said. “We had some dry stretches and heat there early on in the summer that may have caused some problems, but all in all, for the most part, the crop has fared fairly well. The genetics that we plant today handle a lot of that stress a lot better than what we planted 20 years ago.”
When it comes to worse summers, Sparks, like Paxton, counts 2019 as certainly among them. Heavy rains kept Hancock County farmers planting into June, a couple months behind schedule.
“We had good windows to get our work done through the spring and summer both,” Sparks said of 2020. “That was a nice change from what we had dealt with last year.”
Monty Zapf, who grows corn and soybeans in eastern Hancock County, plans to start harvesting in two to three weeks. He said the fields in his part of the county have received ample rain throughout the spring and summer.
“I think the crops that we have where we’re at is as good as they’ve been in a long time,” he said.
Lais McCartney, agriculture and natural resources educator at Purdue Extension Hancock County, has been hearing from farmers that they’re expecting good harvests too.
“It’s a good year for Hancock County,” she said.
This spring and summer were good for planting and growing, McCartney added.
“We had some good, timely rains,” she said.
McCartney also pointed to a significant improvement in farmer sentiment nationally in August, as reported by the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The index rose to 144, up 26 points from July. The barometer is based on survey responses from 400 U.S. agricultural producers and was conducted between Aug. 17 and 21.
The boost was the most positive reading since February, which saw a record high and preceded the COVID-19 pandemic. A news release from Purdue University states improving farmer sentiment was reinforced by expected excellent crop yields, as predicted in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s August Crop Production report.
According to the USDA’s Indiana Agriculture Report for August, Hoosier corn farmers planted 400,000 more acres than in 2019. Soybean acreage grew by 300,000.
“Corn and soybean crop development remained ahead of the five-year average, and crop conditions have remained stable during the growing season,” the report states.
The report forecasts Indiana’s average corn yield at 188 bushels per acre, up 19 bushels from 2019. Total production is forecast at 987 million bushels.
For soybeans, the report forecasts 61 bushels per acre, up 10 from last year, which would be a new Indiana record. Soybeans’ total production is forecast at 346.5 million bushels, up 27% from 2019, which would also be a new high.
The yield for winter wheat is forecast at 67 bushels per acre, down three bushels form the previous forecast but up five from last year. Total production is estimated at 20.8 million bushels.
The report is based on farmer surveys and satellite imagery. A more comprehensive account is expected this month, which will include data based on sampling from fields.
The shutdown that came with the COVID-19 pandemic had one positive effect for farmers: It kept a lot of traffic off the roads in April, May and June, he recalled, when farm machinery is moving between fields. Paxton also noticed that those who were out driving were more prone to pull over to let farm equipment pass.
“That made it nicer,” he said.
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2020 Indiana crop data and forecasts
- 400,000 more acres of corn planted
- 300,000 more acres of soybeans
- Average corn yield estimated at 188 bushels per acre, up 19
- Average soybean yield estimated at 61 bushels per acre, up 10
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
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