Overall corn crop is above average and to some it looks awesome — downside is tar spot, heavy corn residue and price
This is corn?
Incredible number of corn stover bales near Formosa, in Bruce County. They will likely be used for livestock bedding. (John Schwartzentruber photo)
Farmers Forum staff
BRUSSELS – As combines began to roll across the corn fields of Southwestern Ontario, growers quickly realized that they were witnessing unsurpassed yields — in specific pockets on the farm. Everyone loves the yield monitor when it blips to reveal new volume highs and what’s not to love when it catches brief moments that monitor more than 300 bushels per acre?
While every prognosticator includes regional “variability” when discussing yield, some Southwestern Ontario farmers were absolutely tickled by what they were seeing. After some brief moments of dizzying yields, some were consistently recording above 200 bu/ac corn.
Grain moisture levels were low, making for a speedier transition from field to storage. On the down side, tar spot, which was first reported in Ontario in 2020, is the worst we’ve seen in Southwestern Ontario. And as for corn price, no one wants to talk about it.
From southern Georgian Bay down to Lake Erie, descriptions of this year’s harvest shared a common theme for some. Joe Lang, of Lang Farms in southern Bruce County, described it as “tremendous, the best in our history,” adding that the quality was excellent with good weather conditions.
How high are the yields? Maizex Seeds marketing director and crop farmer Stephen Denys said on Oct. 29 that he’s not ruling out a record corn crop. In the cooler, northerly regions, the 200 dry bushels per acre reported was 10 % above historical averages. Numbers from Huron, Perth and Waterloo counties ranged from 200 to 280 bu/ac., despite a lack of rainfall in some areas. Wellington County growers were reporting 40 bu/ac. increases over last year.
Compare that to Ontario’s 10-year-average of 180 bu/ac and last year’s 170.9 bu/ac. Two Ontario yield tours forecast this year’s haul at above 193 bu/ac when you factor in all regions of the province.
While younger farmers may be accustomed to the surprising production figures of the past few years, those who have grown corn since the ’70s or ’80s can best appreciate the significant evolution that this mainstay crop has achieved in their lifetime. John Underwood, of Underwood Grains Ltd. near Wingham, recounted his early days as a beginning farmer. In 1972, he told his father he was projecting a yield of 100 bu/ac. The seasoned elder wasn’t convinced, noting that 100 bu/ac was “pretty optimistic.”
We’ve come a long way. When 35-year-old Chris Jutzi, of Brussels, was asked where he set his yield targets this year, they were exactly double what Underwood hoped for 52 years ago.
Terrific corn yields also create a complication — what to do with the heavy crop residue? If left undisturbed, the extremely thick and tough mat of cornstalks causes big headaches for the following soybean crop. This has led to increased fall tillage, once again. And there’s a wide array of equipment being put to work, ranging from the old-fashioned moldboard plow to elaborate, high-speed tillage tools.
Huron Commodities agronomist, Wayne Wheeler, sees plenty of evidence of how heavy corn residue can impede the following year’s soybean crop as he scouts I.P. soybean fields across Southwestern Ontario. The thick, wet blanket of leaves and stalks slows soil warming in the spring, in addition to creating a toxic, allelopathic effect, which can combine to decimate an emerging soybean stand.
Anything done to expose a percentage of soil surface to sunshine will benefit the grower. That may include fall and/or spring tillage, or removal of the residue, perhaps for use as livestock fodder or bedding.
