Iowa Corn Planting

Cool years with late harvests (pending no freeze that hits too early) means massive crops. A later harvest due to cool weather has been phenomenal.
Yes, but those years also don’t include planting a lot of corn acres in June. Having to dry 28-30% moisture corn really eats into the profits fast.
 
Yes, but those years also don’t include planting a lot of corn acres in June. Having to dry 28-30% moisture corn really eats into the profits fast.


2013 I had to go over a week into June and then PP a third. The last plant in 2013 wasn’t great but was better than last year. As long as you can get it black (or even brown layered like 08 or 09 was) it’s more profitable to pick at 28 percent and dry than let stand and go at 15 from the field.
 
Cool years with late harvests (pending no freeze that hits too early) means massive crops. A later harvest due to cool weather has been phenomenal.

Last year was decidedly not phenomenal here. That's fine in normal years. In years where corn isn't in until June, there's much more precedent for disaster than a 200 bushel 20% type of harvest.

You're also betting on no early freeze but we're due for one of those too. I think the last one was in 2014 if I'm remembering correctly.
 
You don't when it's 30%.


Myself and others have left fields at 26-28 percent to knock out others and came back at high teens. Every time we saw an average of 15+ bushels less from phantom loss. That pays more than your drying bill. We now start rolling as soon as it breaks 30. It’s why many times your best fields are your first picked.
 
2013 I had to go over a week into June and then PP a third. The last plant in 2013 wasn’t great but was better than last year. As long as you can get it black (or even brown layered like 08 or 09 was) it’s more profitable to pick at 28 percent and dry than let stand and go at 15 from the field.

The problem is you fail to even acknowledge the worst case. Your "worst case" isn't even close to the actual worst case and from a business standpoint, if you aren't meeting insurance levels, it's not profitable to do anything that costs more money. It could be a little if price rises beyond a fall harvest price option and you can sell but even then you'd have to be pretty close to your guarantee which I think is unlikely, at least over here.
 
Last year was decidedly not phenomenal here. That's fine in normal years. In years where corn isn't in until June, there's much more precedent for disaster than a 200 bushel 20% type of harvest.

You're also betting on no early freeze but we're due for one of those too. I think the last one was in 2014 if I'm remembering correctly.


Last year had a nasty hot spell in there that really hit the crop. The planting conditions were the worst I’d ever planted in including 2013.
 
Myself and others have left fields at 26-28 percent to knock out others and came back at high teens. Every time we saw an average of 15+ bushels less from phantom loss. That pays more than your drying bill. We now start rolling as soon as it breaks 30. It’s why many times your best fields are your first picked.

At 200 bushel corn, that's close to a wash.
 
The problem is you fail to even acknowledge the worst case. Your "worst case" isn't even close to the actual worst case and from a business standpoint, if you aren't meeting insurance levels, it's not profitable to do anything that costs more money. It could be a little if price rises beyond a fall harvest price option and you can sell but even then you'd have to be pretty close to your guarantee which I think is unlikely, at least over here.

You do what you have to do. Last year I still dried everything and was 30 bushels under my guarantee. I have manure that has to go down and run continuous corn. Having a bunch of volunteer corn and unworked ground can lose you more money the next year is the way I look at it.

Each operation is different. I always look at each year is not completely independent of the others so I do what I feel is most profitable long term and not just for the year.
 
Myself and others have left fields at 26-28 percent to knock out others and came back at high teens. Every time we saw an average of 15+ bushels less from phantom loss. That pays more than your drying bill. We now start rolling as soon as it breaks 30. It’s why many times your best fields are your first picked.
True, but that 26-28% will likely come much later than normal.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: BCClone
You do what you have to do. Last year I still dried everything and was 30 bushels under my guarantee. I have manure that has to go down and run continuous corn. Having a bunch of volunteer corn and unworked ground can lose you more money the next year is the way I look at it.

Each operation is different. I always look at each year is not completely independent of the others so I do what I feel is most profitable long term and not just for the year.

We did the same. I'm just saying that if I have to pick the extremes, it's hot this year. If we had everything in by May 10th, it'd be the other way but a cool summer would make harvest a nightmare with no payoff on the other end.
 
True, but that 26-28% will likely come much later than normal.

It's also really easy to take out and dry that corn in September when you know that 10% drop is coming. It's a lot harder when it starts in mid-late October and you know that's what you're getting the rest of the year.
 
  • Winner
Reactions: awd4cy
It's also really easy to take out and dry that corn in September when you know that 10% drop is coming. It's a lot harder when it starts in mid-late October and you know that's what you're getting the rest of the year.
Exactly. Get into the middle to late October it isn’t uncommon to not get out of the low 50s for a long stretch. Takes much more to dry corn at that.
 
On about June 4th, 14% of the crop was in good condition. Anything planted after that is automatically in poor condition due to its late planting and that's not to mention it was put into **** conditions. There are a lot of acres that won't be planted, period and the ones that are aren't good. Obviously this summer could provide drastic swings but the ceiling is not high. Maybe it won't get to 123 on intended planting but it won't be much better. For reference, 1993 is what has been compared to this year and it was a 101 bushel year. This year was (and I assume still is) tracking worse than that as far as planting progress. Advancements will add to that but genetic advancement, for instance, isn't of use as much because it hasn't really evolved to help us withstand excess water. People will say that year was exceptionally cold all year, which is true. 1991 was similar as well but summer was extended and harvest was exceptionally long. Yield that year was 108.

I'm talking about production of the intended acres. That won't be in the math of reported average yield later on. Sure, it could be like 150 but we haven't accounted for unplanted acres.

Sorry to rain on your parade here, no pun intended.
On June 4 they didn't' issue national good/excellent ratings.
They did on June 10 which had US at 59% good and excellent.
If you want to backdate that to June 2nd where you were 67% planted - would imply 40% of intended corn acres were good or better on June 2nd.

Listen not saying its not bad, it is.... Its just not nearly as bad as you are portraying.

If you think its anywhere near 120 yields you shouldn't be posting - you should be begging your broker/banker for as big of a position as he will let you put on.
 
90


Kyle Cline, a farmer in Roachdale, Indiana, poses with his arms aloft in one of his cornfields. The stalks growing this year are a far cry from where they were last year at this time (6/19) when he struck the same pose, Cline, a farmer in Roachdale, Indiana, poses with his arms aloft in one of his cornfields. The stalks growing this year are a far cry from where they were last year at this time when he struck the same pose,
 
Hopefully we’ll see some good GDDs soon and get some compensatory growth; sun, heat, and some nice warm nights would help a lot right now.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: StClone
SE SD was a disaster this year. Around Sioux Falls essentially no corn had been planted until the first week of June. Areas further to the north and west had less rain so I presume their luck was a bit better.

Thankfully the past few weeks have been good for planting.

This spring reminds me a bit of 2012 in Iowa. I know my uncles were planting until the very end of June that year and had to take PP on a couple fields.
 
I've heard that PP acres are included. I don't know if that's true. I haven't had time to find out but 95% seems like a really high number to me.

The way they do it is if I have 500 acres of corn to plant and I can only plant 300 then I am 100% planted. They really screw with the numbers.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: NWICY and Sparkplug

Help Support Us

Become a patron