90 Day Corn

[JettaKnight]

If they take prevent plant corn there is a restriction on what can be planted as a cover crop, soybeans are a no. Most guys I’ve talked to that have the ability to make hay or have cattle are leaning towards oats, it can’t be harvested till after November 1. But most farmers no longer have cattle and/or hay equipment, going to be a small percentage that can take advantage of that.

I guess the days of "do it all farmers" are gone. Now you have to pick one or two things.

I remember my dad (as a kid) had hogs, dairy, sheep, chickens - plus the 80 acres.

 

[HoughMade]

I guess the days of "do it all farmers" are gone. Now you have to pick one or two things.

I remember my dad (as a kid) had hogs, dairy, sheep, chickens - plus the 80 acres.

My Dad's Dad was a "do it all" farmer, My Mom's Dad had a dairy farm. When both of them retired, the land was leased to others rather than farmed by my family because they did not have big enough farms to make a go of it. Economies of scale being what they are, you can lower costs by not trying to "do it all"...of course you expose yourself to great ruin is the few things you do have a bad year.

I grew up across the road (literally) from one of the largest farms in Michigan. They were successful because the size allowed them to take advantage of economies of scale and grow several crops as well. That had a tendency of smoothing out the bad years as it usually wasn't bad for all at the same time. The last time I heard, they were farming 8,000 acres and custom harvesting another 2,500.

 

[ghuns]

In my neighborhood, it was good we didn't have any baby corn sticking out of the ground on Saturday...

 

[two70]

I'll restate.

I hear this every year. I really do. There's some dry days before the rain comes in, and the rain sticks around and it's too wet to plant. There's been some rainy seasons and flooding, but not every year. In northern Indiana, they got a lot of rain and I'm not sure if they had a window between thaw and rain.

Yes, farmers complain about the weather and rain in particular every year. The difference between this year and other years is that most years farmers get a short window of dry weather to plant in mid-may and then typically a longer dry period toward the end of May to finish up. This year, the current short, dry stretch came extremely late in the planting window and is the only planting window most farmers had. Four days isn't enough time for many farmers to plant all of the corn they intended to plant and that is just for Central Indiana which has been somewhat drier than either the northern or southern portions of Indiana. As wet as Indiana has been, we still haven't been as wet as many of the western cornbelt states that have had to deal with massive flooding. So, while you are correct that farmers always complain about weather conditions during planting season (as they do about weather conditions during the growing and harvest seasons as well), what you seem to be missing is that this year is much, much worse than most years.

Maybe that's true.

Or maybe Tim Ryan is ignorant as well.

That, or ya know, the fact that he was a PolySci major in college, went to law school, and has now been in public office since he attained the ripe old age of 29...


He MIGHT not be a qualified observer, even if he has lots of words.

-Nate

I'll go with option B, he may or may not be ignorant(I'm leaning toward the former) but he is certainly a politician trying to make political hay.

Different crop or just let it go to hay?


The soybean market ain't that hot right now, so that's not a great option.

Soybeans are the only real, viable alternative on most of the acreage but most farmers have already long since purchased their seed(and crop insurance) for the year and don't have a realistic option to switch crops this late in the season.

As mentioned, the best option for many farmers will be to take Prevented Planting and plant cover crops, which come with several restrictions on what you can do with the crop.

 

[Butch627]

Thanks for all the information I have learned quite a bit. I am seeing yellow flowers blooming all over in the untouched fields. In some fields they are sparse but in others they appear so thick one could think they were planted. I have seen them everywhere from SE of Indy to the NW corner of the state. What can you tell me about them?

 

[two70]

It's probably wild mustard.

 

[wagyu52]

Butter weed https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1023

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Butter weed https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1023

Almost looks like the same plant. I wonder if it's just a different name?

 

[bwframe]

Whats to become of the hay? Cant help but notice the pastures surrounding me have yet to be cut. The grass is actually beginning to look like it's getting yellow and dyeing off?

 

[patience0830]

Whats to become of the hay? Cant help but notice the pastures surrounding me have yet to be cut. The grass is actually beginning to look like it's getting yellow and dyeing off?

Can't cut hay when it rains either.

 

[chocktaw2]

Can't cut hay when it rains either.

No rain for a few days, hay is laying everywhere. Baled by Sat.

 

[bwframe]

Is the hay's quality reduced by staying in the field so long?

 

[natdscott]

Yes, as a general statement.

 

[bwframe]

They finally cut the field grass today. Leaving a huge patch of purple flowered thistle that borders the complete north side of my garden.

 

[ditcherman]

They finally cut the field grass today. Leaving a huge patch of purple flowered thistle that borders the complete north side of my garden.

They should mow the thistle off or spray it - not to get anyone in trouble but in Indiana it is a noxious weed and the landowner is legally required to not allow it to go to seed. Talk to them first, if they won't cooperate then call the township trustee as a first step, they will either make them comply or the surveyors office will spray it and bill the owner which gets tacked on to the property tax bill as a last resort.
Early bloom really is the best time to spray it.

 

[ditcherman]

I'm really late to this party, there is a lot in here and natdscott seems to nail right most of it on the head.
The OP asked about 90 day corn, that is the relative maturity rating of a given hybrid, each hybrid has its own relative maturity. It is generally accepted as the length of time from emergence to physiological maturity, or 'black layer', when the grain fill has maxed out.
Typically in central IN we plant 105 to 115 day corn, depending on yield goals, storage and drying capability, etc. Many switched to earlier hybrids, which was probably what you heard them talking about on the radio.
Another quick note, the RM has nothing to do with actual days so don't try to figure it out calenderically, it has more to do with growing degree days but standard vary from company to company. This is why we may have an ok crop *IF* we have a later than normal frost.