Corn and soybeans turning good crop
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MARTIN COUNTY - With harvest season fast approaching, statewide reports and farmers on the ground suggest corn and soybeans are set for a good year.
According to the USDA report for the week ending Aug. 16, 67 percent of Minnesota's soybeans and 66 percent of its corn are in good or excellent condition. On the other end, only 8 percent of the soybeans and 9 percent of the corn are in poor or very poor condition. The rest falls in the middle, fair region.
At the beginning of the season, Martin County Farmer and Minnesota Soybean Board Representative Lawrence Sukalski said prices were low, but they started with a good year as far as planting.
"Everybody was positive that way," he said. "At least in the county, we got out early and it was dry. It was good conditions, but the prices weren’t so good."
This year, Sukalski said they were done planting by April 26 on the corn. Over the past few years, he said it has varied between dry and wet, as last year they did not get to plant until May 12.
"It seems like every year is different," Sukalski said.
As August goes into September, Sukalski said the corn and soybeans are just about to mature.
"The soybeans are turning, so you’ll see combines rolling in about three weeks," he said. "I think some of the corn fields are starting to turn, early hybrid. So you may see people in the field in four weeks."
With that kind of timeframe, Sukalski said they are definitely ahead of schedule this year.
"We had a lot of heat this year and it pushed the crop along pretty good," he said. "We had some warm nights."
Because of that, Sukalski said that opens up opportunities for people on the farm to make sure everything is in tip-top shape.
"We’ll take our time and check machinery over really close," he said. "Repairs are expensive. It seemed like COVID started a lot of inflation, so we’ll take that extra time and look at everything really close, and probably not burn the midnight oil. We’ll start a little earlier, hopefully the weather will cooperate, and we’ll just harvest for six weeks instead of four weeks."
Looking over the USDA numbers, Sukalski said it means Minnesota will have a good crop to sell this year.
"We’re going to have a good crop to export," he said. "Our customers outside the U.S. like to know what kind of crop we got, and we try to keep that positive on the soybeans because they know we’re a reliable supplier."
As for how the market has changed since the low prices of planting season, Sukalski said he'd like to see them go a little bit higher.
"How the crop conditions are in Minnesota, they’re not so good in other places," he said. "They had the Pro Farmer Crop Tour last week, and they’re finding less and less corn out there, so the corn market has been going up the last few days, which will help. We both need corn and soybeans to go a little higher."
While a dry spring and six inches of rain in the past month helped, according to Sukalski, some places in Martin County did get the shorter end of the stick.
"People did get a little hail here and there," he said. "I know by Ceylon, Welcome they got some heavy rain, so they got some drowned out over there. It’s a little bit different in each corner of the county."
Even so, Sukalski said the farming season is looking pretty good in Martin County overall. With a lot going the farmer's way this year, Sukalski said it's not something that happens very often.
"It’s a good feeling," he said. "Everything’s been like clockwork to this point. Hopefully the weather holds on, and we can keep on getting this heat to dry the crop out, and everybody can not hit it so hard and be safe."
While having a smooth harvest season would help, Sukalski knows there's always something to do on the farm.
"There’s always the extra jobs to do," Sukalski said. "Clean that fence line out, or maybe do some drain tiling, or do things like that. That’s usually what happens when you have an early season. There’s always something more to do, and you don’t get that every year. Sometimes you get done to harvest, and winter’s here."