Agronomist amazed with fast crops

CHENOA – A field agronomist for Pioneer is amazed at how fast the crops matured this year in Central Illinois, leading to a speedy harvest season so far.

“We had a crop that was probably almost a month ahead of normal and the corn dried down so quickly,” Brad Rademacher said during a visit to Atkins Seed Service near Chenoa this week.

By the time most growers got into the cornfields to combine, the corn was already in the teens for moisture and is getting drier by the day. Moisture is averaging below 15 percent in many areas and farmers can’t get it out fast enough.

The variable yields are likely due to water holding capacity of the soil, according to Rademacher.

“The deeper prairie soils, or those parts of the field that hold water better, you’ll see the yield monitor bump up maybe 100 bushels compared to some of the higher areas of the field.”

In general, this year’s soybean yields are good with many growers saying they are higher than expected. Yields did drop off in those areas which were drier during July and August. Some popular Pioneer numbers this year include P31A22x for soybeans which has been performing well across the area and P1197 for corn, which has been a strong hybrid for a few years. One of the newer corn varieties is 1055AM.

For more information, talk to your local Pioneer sales professional.