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CROP AND WEATHER REPORT
For the Two-Week Period Ending May 21, 2013
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GENERAL WEATHER FOR THIS AREA: Great Improvement! These would be two words that could be used in summarizing the weather over the last two weeks. And, this Improvement has been two-fold. First, and most important, the temperature increased over the last two weeks allowing a warming of soils. This, in conjunction with dry and sunny days, allowed major planting to commence for all of our operators. The daily high temperature ranged from 53 degrees on May 12th to 100+ on May 15th. A record daily high was set on this day in many areas. After setting a record, the average daily high ranged in the mid 70s to mid 80s for the balance of the two-week period. The increase in daily temperature was beneficial for increasing the soil temperature from the upper 40s to the mid 60s at the 2 inch level. This temperature is ideal for seed germination.
Secondly, the weather over the last two weeks has been ideal for making great headway in improving topsoil and subsurface soil moisture. You will note in looking at the two-week rainfall totals listed in the chart below that most of our area received at least two inches of rainfall. Isolated storm systems on the evening of the 17th did deliver 1.0 to 3.0 inches of rainfall and some hail to small areas near Windom, Bergen, and Jackson in a very short amount of time. Some soil movement did take place with this event, but again, this was very limited. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported that with this rainfall, the State topsoil has increased to an average of 67 percent adequate and the subsoil has increased to 63 percent adequate levels. This is excellent considering a deficit in subsoil moisture we had experienced over the last 18 to 24 months.
SOYBEANS: Some producers that completed corn planting over the last week have had a few days to get a good start on soybean planting. Many have not yet entered soybean fields outside of performing some tillage. USDA reported that as of May 19th, 23 percent of the 2013 Minnesota soybean crop had been planted. This compares to a 51 percent five-year average. Some weed pressure exists in non-cultivated fields. These weeds will be removed with tillage prior to planting. Those that elected to use a pre-emergent herbicide must apply most of the chemicals within 2-3 days of planting. In considering the forecast, we anticipate that it may take until the end of the first week of June to complete soybean planting.
Blending the old with the new. Here an antique tractor still finds a use on the farm as it is used to deliver bulk seed to the planter.
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CORN: Major progress in corn planting for our area, and the U.S., has been the highlight in agricultural news over the last two weeks! Specifically for our area, the days of Saturday May 11th through Thursday May 16th, saw an unprecedented amount of corn go in the ground. In fact, almost all of our clients' corn was planted prior to the rain that arrived on May 19th. You may recall reading in the last Crop and Weather Report that it was reported as of May 5th, 2 percent of the corn had been planted in Minnesota. We can now report that as of May 19th, 70 percent of the crop has been planted. This is an increase of 68 percent in two weeks, where only about 6 days were suitable for fieldwork! Again, this just goes to show how fast farmers can complete the task when conditions are good. There are more and more 16-row and 24-row planters in the countryside and some producers are running multiple planters in their operations. Also, equipment auto guidance technology has allowed producers the ability to plant 24 hrs. per day. Darkness is no longer a limiting factor in planting. Corn planting is still behind normal as the five-year average of 84 percent planted, but should be wrapped up by the time you read the next Crop and Weather Report.
Soil conditions have been excellent for planting. Seed placement appears to be ideal as well in most fields. Corn plants can be seen emerging (rowed) on those fields that were planted on April 30th and in early May, as the increase in daily temperatures has helped accelerate germination. USDA reported that 8 percent of the Minnesota crop has emerged. This compares to a five-year average of 41 percent. The first flush of weeds has been eliminated with tillage prior to planting, but pressure in general has been low with the late arrival of spring. In addition to planting, spray applications of pre-emergent herbicides have been conducted on cornfields.
Auto-guidance, such as that found on this tractor, reduces operator fatigue and has allowed producers to plant through the night with a delayed and short planting window this spring.
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REMARKS: The latest USDA Crop Progress Report released on May 20th indicated the U.S. corn crop is 71 percent planted compared with 95 percent at this time in 2012 and a five-year average of 79 percent. Illinois boasts the biggest increase in one week's progress at 57 percent. The national average increase from the previous week is 43 percent. As previously mentioned, it is staggering to consider how much progress can be gained in such a short time. Some interesting statistics related to maximum corn planted in a week include: IA - 61 percent in second week of May 2011, IN - 47 percent in first week of May 2001, MN - 57 percent in last week of April 2000, and U.S. - 30 percent in last week of April 2010.
We "swept the bin" and sold the last 10 percent of the 2012 soybeans this past week on May 14th at an average price of $14.87. Strength in the old-crop soybean market has been the result of extremely tight supplies.
In addition to planting, spraying to prevent weed competition with the crop is an important part of field operations in the spring.
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GROWING-DEGREE DAYS | | May 1, 2013 TO DATE INDICATED | TOTAL GROWING DEGREE DAYS | DEPARTURE, FROM NORMAL | | LOCATION | | | | | Lamberton | May 21, 2013 | 187 | -13 | | Worthington | May 21, 2013 | N/A | N/A |
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Corn Growing Degree Days are calculated by subtracting a 50 degree base temperature from the average of the maximum and minimum temperature for the day. The daily maximum is limited to 86 degrees and the minimum is 50 degrees.
Grain Markets (May 22, 2013) | | New Vision,
Windom | Magnolia | Poet Biorefining,
Bingham Lake | MnSP,
Brewster | | Current Crop | | | | | | Corn | 6.99 | 7.01 | 7.03 | | | Soybeans | 14.83 | 14.61 | | 15.06 | | January | | | | | | Corn | 4.89 | 4.91 | 5.00 | | | Soybeans | 11.81 | 11.79 | | 12.04 |
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COUNTY | CITY | RAINFALL FOR TWO WEEK PERIOD | MARCH 1 TO DATE-2013 | MARCH 1 TO DATE-2012 | | Cottonwood | Jeffers | 2.23 | 7.33 | 9.26 | | Cottonwood | Westbrook | 2.50 | 7.40 | 8.90 | | Cottonwood | Windom | 2.99 | 6.37 | 6.49 | | Jackson | Heron Lake | 2.46 | 7.19 | 9.07 | | Martin | Trimont | 2.30 | 8.40 | 9.80 | | Murray | Fulda | 3.40 | 5.95 | 9.20 | | Murray | Chandler | 1.90 | 5.70 | 9.21 | | Nobles | Round Lake | 3.40 | 9.50 | 8.10 | | Rock | Magnolia | 1.25 | 4.90 | 8.65 |
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Steven J. Hiniker
Farm Management Advisor
Real Estate Salesperson
E-mail us at: fairland@fairlandmanagement.com
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