View from the Cab: Learning lessons

By: Kent Casson

As always, we are all learning lessons from the current harvest for the upcoming growing season.

We know there were regional challenges this season, especially for the corn crop. For instance, growers in the High Plains and Mid-South navigated their way through heat, dryness and higher input costs during 2022. We really are pretty fortunate around here in Central Illinois and elsewhere in the Midwest, as corn and soybean yields are holding up.

Nebraska was heavily impacted by extreme weather. This is where LG Seeds Agronomist Matt Teply lives.

“We had more days above 105 degrees Farenheit than days between 100 and 105 degrees,” Teply admitted.

He said most of the dryland corn crop will not be harvested and much of the irrigated crop is well below average. According to Teply, this year’s dryland/irrigated percentage split for that region is around 40/60.

In the Mid-South, LG Seeds Agronomist Dan Mitchell reports conditions weren’t as dire but the area still faced plenty of heat and dryness during the year.

“Extreme heat and dryness during pollination took the top end off yields for some farmers,” explained Mitchell. “Others pollinated outside that stressful period and ears were able to fill out and make the grain they’re capable of.”

Crop experts believe conserving water will remain a priority. After more than two years of drought in parts of the country, farmers are struggling with water allocations. Conserving water and improving soil water-holding capacity are big factors to consider. Teply feels residue is key to water-holding capacity and that crop rotations are needed to make sure the soil is covered.

“Farmers can also conserve water by moving to an earlier maturity hybrid or lowering plant populations,” adds Teply.

Field around here in Illinois are pretty dry now, despite a couple of passing showers that fell last week. For the first time in a long time, we can get the grain trucks in and out of the fields without making any ruts or getting stuck. The dryness is nice now but we are going to want some more soil moisture ahead of the 2023 growing season.