August update for 2013 corn.

Here is an update that was just shot.  The top photo is of Iowa corn in Washington County, Iowa.  This corn is a nice even stand that is 12' plus.

This bottom photo is of corn in Hardy Co. West Virginia.  This corn is also 12' plus.  I have seen some stands that are near 14' tall.   In the 23 years that I have lived in this area, I have never seen such tall corn.   Now this does not mean that the harvest will be record also.  Most of this corn is in the dough stage.  Generally a large portion of the corn has already entered the dent stage.  I have seen no evidence of this here in West Virginia, and I am also hearing the same for Iowa corn.  The next 6 weeks will be critical for corn.   If we have a early frost yield will suffer.  If it is a late frost say after October 15th, yields will likely be quite good.    

Stay tuned.

2013 corn is on the way

Corn planting for 2013 got a late start in many parts of America. However, in most cases the farmers have completed planting and the corn and other crops are well on the way. This is a two week old photo from Washington County Iowa. I am told that the corn is nearly head high as of today. A direct quote from the farmer. "The corn is looking darn good this year. That corn in the picture was taken less than two weeks ago. When I get back, in a couple days, it will be over 6 feet." "Conditions have been great, so far. To place conditions in prespective, I had my alfalfa test plot cut this past week. The farmer said the yield is going to be great. I also drove the polaris through some standing grass that is usually no higher than 4 feet. This year it was 6 to 8 feet tall." "But, just like every year, there are a thousand things that can and will affect the end product. "

2011 Corn is on the way

After a slow start corn was finally in the ground by the first weekend in June. I would say that here in WVA that 95% plus of all corn was planted. I will list a few photos of local corn and also additional photos of corn in Iowa. All photos were shot on July 4th.

The top four photos are from Washington County Iowa. This is one very happy corn farmer. My contact tells me that most corn in his area is chest to head high. As you can see this corn is healthy with a dark green color.

The remaining photos are all shot in Hardy Co. WVA. The first photo shows a stand of corn that is about 6 ft tall.

The next photo has is of a test plot for Pioneer Seeds. I originally thought that this field would not be planted at all. On the 6th of June the field had not even been tilled. A week later I drove by and the field had been tilled and planted. I assumed with beans, as the planting date for beans is a little later than corn. Just a few days later I noticed that corn had just emerged. As you can see now this corn is about 3 feet tall. Hmmmm, looks like it made knee high by the 4th of July.

The next photo is shot in a field that had winter rye. The rye was harvested in early June. A few days later I noticed they were no-till planting this field with what I assumed was soy beans. Wrong again. I couple of weeks later I noticed that corn had emerged and was growing in leaps and bounds. This corn is over 3 feet tall on the 4th.

The final photo shows a real nice stand of corn. This farmer has some of the best bottom land in the area. In spite of considerable spring rain, his fields always drains quickly and he was able to get his corn in early. This plot is approximately 100 acres and is now near 6 ft. tall. In the foreground is a brown field that just had winter rye harvested. This farmer is big on crop rotation, so I am assuming that he has no-till planted beans on this plot.

Corn conditions at harvest time.

Here are some photos that I shot just a week ago. These are a follow up on the same crops that I shot back in July. You can click on any photo for a full screen view.

The first photo is of some corn that was just harvested near Gormania, WVA. The farmer told me that he had a very good year in spite of the early wet cool spring. He claimed that since his land is on high ground and that he had no water pooling problems that his crop was excellent. It also helped to have a late fall with no killing frosts.

Photo #2 is a stand of corn that is mature and awaiting harvest at the town park near Moorefield, WV. I had shot photos of this field earlier. Due to pooling water from heavy rains a portion of this field had to be replanted. You would never know it now. Also note that there are some very fat cats in this photo. Don't know if you can blame it on the mice, or the corn. lol.

This next photo is of a Pioneer test plot near Moorefield, WVA. I chose not to shoot a photo during the July 4th weekend as these plants were only about 6" tall. My thinking was that in no way will they make it. Now here we are 3 months later and this corn is in the dry down phase and will soon be harvested. I will be very interested to see what the yield is for this plot.

The final photo shows a stand of nice green corn shot from the parking lot at Walmart in Moorefield, WV. This corn was late planted during the last week of June and here it is in October, still maturing and looking very good. These plants are 10-12 feet tall and ears are well developed.

Corn and Beans in Washington, Iowa in very good condition

In spite of the gloom and doom that others were claiming concerning this years bean and corn crops, conditions have improved and the local crops in Washington County Iowa are progressing nicely.

A friend was traveling from his home in Illinois to the family farm near Washington, Iowa and shot these photos. The top photo shows a flooded field in western Illinois, and the four remaining photos shows shots of beans and corn from his farm.

Crops in Illinois and Iowa have rebounded nicely. I look for a very good harvest from both come this fall.

You can click on the pics for a larger image.

Corn Fields From the Heart of Corn Country

Here are some photos of stands of corn shot in Central Iowa. The first photo is shot near Washington, IA. The second photo was shot on July 13th, and third photo were shot from the same location at the I-80 truckstop on June 18th. These photos show a stand of corn that is healthy and progressing rapidly. This corn is now in the silk stage.

Updates for Hardy County, WVA corn.

Here is a recent update from photos that I just shot today. The first photo will show corn in the silk stage. You will also notice that this corn is about a foot taller than it was just a week ago. Six weeks ago, I wasn't sure that this stand of corn would make it.

The second photo is of a Pioneer Seed Test Plot. This plot was planted the last week of June. On the 17th of July I passed up a photo opportunity as I felt that the corn was stunted as it was only about 12" tall. It is amazing what a 3 weeks of good growing weather can do. This hybrid must be super and/or they must have the best fertilizer in the world. By the way, these fence posts are 4 foot tall.

The third photo is of a stand that I shot three weeks ago. This is the best stand that I have seen in the area. It is now in the dough stage. This farmer used Southern States Brand seed corn.

By the way, you can click on any picture and get a larger view.