Wet Corn Holds Up Michiana Harvest
Published: Friday, October 27, 2023
Area farmers have their own theories for why this year's harvest season is later than usual. Three farmers who were contacted by the Exchange said they believe smoke from the Canadian wildfires in June is responsible for the late maturity of this year's corn crop. However, Purdue University corn specialist Dan Quinn said he can't support that notion. He said this year's late-maturing corn is most likely a result of the plants being healthier and staying alive longer.
Whatever the reason, this year's harvest season is running slightly behind the average pace. According to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, corn harvested for grain was only 42% complete as of Sunday. That's behind last year's mark of 52% and the five-year average of 54%.
In Michigan, corn harvest is even further behind. The Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service reported corn harvested for grain was only 24% complete as of Sunday. Last year, it was 29% finished; the five-year average is 30%.
Jim Yoder of Nappanee was taking advantage of dry weather last Wednesday to shell corn on some of his 500 acres. As a dairy farmer, he feeds most of the corn to his herd of 150 Holsteins. He reported that both his silage corn and field corn were delayed this year.
"The corn is about two weeks behind," he said.
When asked why the harvest is so late this year, Yoder blamed it on the smoke from Canadian wildfires in June.
He added that, with the smoke in the atmosphere, this year has been strange.
"It's just kind of messed up," he said.
Counting both his silage corn and field corn, Yoder said he was about three-quarters finished as of last week. He said the field corn is running about 25% on moisture. For feed use, that's OK.
Rick Lichtenbarger of St. Joseph County (Ind.) said harvest hasn't progressed very much due to lots of rain and wet conditions. He has harvested a couple hundred acres of corn so far but is farther along with soybeans.
He farms several thousand acres in northern St. Joseph County and southern Michigan, and shares Yoder's opinion that the wildfire smoke affected crop growth this summer.
"My opinion is that the Canadian smoke definitely delayed our crops," he said. "We were shelling this morning at 34% and it should have been more like 25% for this time of the year. The crops are yielding very well, but the corn is very wet."
One thing that seems out of the ordinary for this time of the year, according to both Lichtenbarger and Quinn, is the large percentage of field corn that is still green.
Lichtenbarger said about three-fourths of the field he shelled last Wednesday was that way.
"We switched to soybeans this afternoon hoping it would be dry enough to run," he said, "and right now they're not dry yet."
With several days of rain last Thursday through Saturday, farmers like Lichtenbarger had to play the waiting game while their fields dried out.
"Thirty percent corn creates a lot of bottlenecks and expense at the dryer, because it goes through so much slower," he said.
Over in Fulton County, Dave Smith of Rochester said his corn harvest has reached the halfway point, which is about a week to 10 days behind average.
"Halloween is our goal (for completion), and I know we're not going to make that," he said. "If we're done by the 10th, I'm going to be pretty happy."
Smith and his family farm thousands of acres. Soybean harvest is also behind, he said, but not as much as corn.
Overall harvest conditions are good. Smith said corn yields, so far, are approximately 25 bushels above average, while soybean yields have been variable but close to average. One positive, according to Smith, is that there haven't been any storms or high winds that flattened the corn.
Smith said his family took advantage of the rainy weather late last week to haul some grain to market.
"We've got a bumper crop of corn, so we're selling quite a bit right now," he said.
When asked why the harvest is later this year, Smith blamed the smoke.
"Something has delayed this crop, and I don't know what else it could have been," he said.
Carey McKibben of LaGrange County said he has finished harvesting soybeans and has just started to shell corn. He said the corn crop is still too wet.
"It's not drying down like it has the last few years," he said.
He blames the delay on the dry weather in June, when the crop sat in the soil without any moisture for several weeks. It finally received some rain and started growing again, but that dry stretch pushed the timeline back by a week or two.
He also mentioned that the dry weather limited the effectiveness of chemicals that rely on water for activation. In turn, that may have prevented the crops from reaching their full potential.
As far as yields, McKibben is expecting good yields on both corn and soybeans, though not as good as last year.
McKibben said he is aware of the concerns relating to wildfire smoke possibly affecting crop growth. However, he believes this year's crop maturity was affected most by the dry weather in June.
Quinn said he has heard considerable feedback from farmers, especially in the northern part of the state, asking if the smoke is responsible for the delayed crop growth and harvest this year. However, he said there is no evidence pointing to that as the primary cause of the problem.
"Wildfire smoke is really, really tricky," the Purdue corn specialist said. "It's something I would say we need a lot more research on. It's something we don't truly understand fully."
No doubt, corn plants can be impacted by a reduction in light, he said. However, with respect to plant growth, there are both positives and negatives associated with wildfire smoke. On one hand, the haze and reduced air quality from the smoke can reduce light availability, impacting photosynthesis. However, wildfire smoke in the atmosphere can also have positive impacts. Quinn said smoke can scatter sunlight, allowing it to penetrate deeper into the crop canopy and increase overall photosynthesis.
When light is scattered and direct sunlight is reduced, this can also lower leaf surface temperatures which can benefit crops under drought stress, he said.
"We don't really think the wildfire smoke impacted the crops this year, just based on when the wildfire smoke was the worst," Quinn said. He added that the growth stage of corn is key when determining injury to the plant.
Quinn said corn is more susceptible to the negative effects of wildfire smoke during the grain fill stages. During late June, when the smoke was the heaviest and air quality concerns were greatest, most of the Indiana corn plants were adding vegetation and were far from the grain fill stage.
"From my personal perspective, I don't think the wildfire smoke was the driving reason for the delayed maturity, delayed harvest, especially in northern Indiana," he said. "Could it have had some impact? Maybe, but we don't know because it's so difficult to understand and quantify."
Quinn said the issue needs more study. But he said it is interesting that most of the complaints are coming from farmers in Ontario, Canada as well as Michigan and northern Indiana. He hasn't heard any concerns from farmers in central or southern Indiana.
"What we're seeing in really the northern portion of the state is the crop is basically still green," he said. "That's an indication that the crop is still photosynthesizing, still actually producing sugars for that plant, but those sugars really don't have anywhere to go."
He pointed to the lack of rain during the early part of the growing season as a possible cause of delayed crop maturity.
Another possible reason for delayed maturity, according to Quinn, is that the corn crop is staying healthy longer, perhaps from fungicides fighting off tar spot and other diseases. The green color could also be a result of late-season nitrogen uptake.
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