About This Episode
Chris Barron files a short crop update from his own operation in northeast Iowa on May 1, 2021. Planters are still running hard across the area, and the seed sales agency he is part of is still moving a lot of seed out the door. His one-word description of conditions is dry, and he repeats it: very, very, very dry across northeast Iowa and, he thinks, a big chunk of the state as the first week of May opens.
The dryness creates a specific problem: seed going in between May 3 and May 7 will struggle to reach moisture, especially soybeans in tilled ground. Barron's own farm planted beans first, which he has long argued for because beans tolerate cold better than corn, tend to maximize yield, and set up either an early harvest or a good basis. Those beans are done, corn finished at the end of the week, and spraying is next.
Soybeans planted April 6 are out of the ground and look good. Basis is strong, so Barron has been shoveling and hauling corn out of the bin while the planters run, and he calls keeping trucks moving a key opportunity in his area if you can find drivers. He expects Iowa to be essentially done planting between May 3 and May 7, the fastest pace he has seen there, and says the dry is good but rain is needed badly.
“The dry is good, but we're going to need some rain.”
— Chris Barron
Key Takeaways
Northeast Iowa and much of the state were very dry on May 1, 2021, with planters still rolling.
Seed placed May 3 through May 7 will have trouble finding moisture, especially soybeans in tilled ground.
Barron plants soybeans first because they tolerate cold better than corn and set up either an early harvest or a good basis.
Soybeans planted April 6 on his farm had already emerged and looked good.
With a strong basis he was hauling corn out of the bin while planters ran, and calls finding truck drivers the real constraint.
He expected Iowa to finish planting by May 7, the fastest pace he had seen in that area.
Full Transcript
Chris: Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Ag View Pitch, and just wanted to give a quick crop update from Northeast Iowa. We've been, uh, calling a few people, as you've probably listened, on just kind of some crop updates on what's going on. I just thought I'd give a quick one again for our area and for our farm operation. There's a lot of planters still rolling in our area. We do have a seed sales agency, the Guys are still pushing a lot of seed out. The conditions in northeast Iowa, and I would say in a big chunk of Iowa, is very, very, very dry right now. And I can't say enough verys, I guess, because I think as we get into this next week here now, you know, that 3rd through the 7th of May, there's going to still be a lot of seed going in the ground.
It's going to get tough trying to find moisture, I think, especially for soybeans in ground that's been tilled especially. And so those are some of the challenges we're seeing. I mean, we were pretty fortunate. We typically plant our beans first, as most of our clients who are listening to this know, because I have always been a big proponent of that, getting the beans in super early. They seem to be able to tolerate the cold a little better than the corn and maximize our yield for whatever reason, and usually a pretty good basis later on, or, you know, harvesting them early and getting a good basis. That's kind of what we're seeing. We've got, like I said, we got the beans done, and we just finished up the corn here at the end of the week. And so as we go into this next week, we're just trying to finish up with some spraying and, and, you know, kind of get on to the next things.
We do have some beans, soybeans emerged that were planted on April 6th. They're out of the ground, they look awesome. And so that's kind of where we're at. But again, we need rain really bad in this area, and Just, just, uh, looking at a real strong basis right now. I've been in the grain bin shoveling corn, hauling corn while planters are rolling. Always seems to be a really good opportunity if you can find truck drivers to keep the trucks moving. That's really a key for us in this area to try to be moving the grain out as, as best we can. And so I'm trying to think of anything else here, um, just to kind of give you an update from our area. And again, we will be checking in with some more farmers and giving you some more crop updates. But I just wanted to touch base with everybody. I appreciate it.
Any of our clients or any, anybody listening to this actually, I guess, could feel free to give me a call if you'd like to do a crop update and give us some information on kind of what things are looking like in your area. We'll have some, some time next week to kick a few more crop reports out there. And so again, just from northeast Iowa, super dry. I think by the end of this week, between the 3rd and the 7th, I think we're going to see Iowa pretty much done planting. It's been probably the fastest planting pace we've seen in this area. And so the dry is good, but we're going to need some rain. Aside from that, that's all I've got for now. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back with another crop update real soon. Thanks for listening. Catch you next time on the Ag View Pitch.