NAPERVILLE, Illinois, Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Crop Watch producers reported fast harvest paces across the board last week, and that will continue until mid-week when the next round of heavier rains is expected to move across the Corn Belt.
Ohio was the only Crop Watch location where field work was very limited due to rain, and another two corn fields were harvested late last week: Indiana and South Dakota. Just four of the 22 corn and bean fields remain at this point, similar progress as the last two years.
Crop Watch producers have been rating yield potential on a 1-to-5 scale with a score of 3 around farm average yield, 4 solidly above average and 5 among the best crops ever.
The average, 11-field corn yield rose to 3.8 from 3.77 last week on a quarter-point bump in North Dakota, motivated by other nearby harvest results. That is Crop Watch’s the highest corn score since late August but below all expectations prior to that.
The Indiana corn ended at the predicted 4.5, equal to the 2021 result and a hair better than in 2022. South Dakota corn landed at 4, consistent with pre-harvest expectations and notably better than in the past two years.
The Ohio bean field is still in progress, but the final Crop Watch soybean yield for 2023 is projected at 3.5, below the previous two years.
Crop Watch producers were asked this week whether corn or soy yields have been relatively better in their areas, and seven producers voted for corn. Corn has been significantly better than beans in both Iowa locations and in Kansas.
It is too early in North Dakota to decide between crops, and both corn and soybeans have been excellent in Ohio. However, soybeans in southeastern Illinois and South Dakota were slightly better relative to corn.
Producers suppose that the mild temperatures throughout July and early August plus sufficient rains in that period were just enough to keep corn relatively happy, though the dryness through most of August was simply unfriendly to the beans.
The following are the states and counties of the 2023 Crop Watch corn and soybean fields: Kingsbury, South Dakota; Freeborn, Minnesota; Burt, Nebraska; Rice, Kansas; Audubon, Iowa; Cedar, Iowa; Warren, Illinois; Crawford, Illinois; Tippecanoe, Indiana; Fairfield, Ohio. The North Dakota corn is in Griggs County and the soybeans are in Stutsman County. Karen Braun is a market analyst for Reuters. Views expressed above are her own
(Editing by David Evans)
