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CROP AND WEATHER REPORT
For the Monthly Report Ending September 18, 2024
GENERAL COMMENTS & WEATHER: It has certainly been a summer of extreme weather here in Southwestern Minnesota (SWMN). In the July 10th Crop & Weather Report, we noted that there was 24 to 30+ inches of rain since March 15th and the Des Moines River reached an all-time record flood stage of 25 feet in Windom during the third week of June. Since then, rainfall has been well below average, with only 2.0 to 4.6 inches, as the Des Moines has dropped more than 11 feet. The few rain events that occurred have been small and spotty, but were still enough to keep the subsurface soil moisture around the historical average. If the forecast holds, we are hoping to receive some rain this coming weekend. From the beginning of August until now, the daytime highs have ranged from 68 to 92 degrees, with highs around 10 degrees above average this past week. Total cumulative Growing Degree Days (GDD) are at 2,427 units, which is slightly above average for the growing season.
Figure 1 –This cornfield shows many challenges that we faced this year by producers. The first of these issues was the large amounts of rain that caused drowned out spots in many fields (black areas). The next variable that can be seen is the nitrogen that leached out of the soil through some of the tile lines. Telltale signs of this are the yellowing corn over the lines on the left-hand side of the photo. On the upper left-hand side, you can also see yellow corn from herbicide drift from the neighboring soybean field. One can also see the 3 different colors of corn from the 3 different varieties. Overall, this demonstrates the variability that we anticipate we will see across most of the cornfields in SWMN this year.
SOYBEANS: Harvest is just beginning here in parts of SWMN, as early maturity soybeans matured very quickly with the hot/dry conditions the past few weeks and are starting to be combined. Many farmers in the area have their machinery out in their yards making the last adjustments before they head to the fields. Most fields are turning colors/dropping leaves and will be able to be harvested in the coming weeks. The soybeans that were replanted in early July are still very green and could take awhile before they can be harvested. The rain in the forecast would be welcome, as the chance of combine fires decreases with precipitation. Nationally, 25% of the soybeans are dropping leaves. This is 4 points above average but 2 points behind last year. Soybeans planted on lighter soil will be impacted by the dry conditions late this summer, so yield expectations are lower in these areas. Overall, we still anticipate average to above average soybean yields in SWMN.
Nationally, the soybean crop is rated as 64% good to excellent, which is up from 52% a year ago. In Minnesota, soybeans are rated as 66% good to excellent versus 46% at this time last year. In the September USDA Supply & Demand Report, the USDA has projected the national soybean yield at 53.2 bushels per acre, up 3.1 bushels per acre from at this time last year. The average soybean yield in Minnesota was estimated to be 49.0 bushels per acre, which is one bushel per acre higher than last year. These crop ratings/yields are part of the reason we see soybean prices lower than we have during the past few years.
Weed control differed from most years with many fields being too wet to access mid-way through the growing season. After the fields dried out, some of the weeds that had sprung up needed more herbicide to eradicate them than normal. Fortunately, most fields ended up being very clean with very little weed pressure at the end of the growing season. The soybean aphid population reached economic threshold in most of the region. Standard practice recommends spraying insecticide at or right before threshold, but with the extended pressure in August, producers sprayed almost all of our soybean acres this year. Those who treated for aphids early saw them return later and some even had to spray insecticide a second time.
Figure 2 – This is a soybean field getting close to harvest. Again, one can see the drowned out areas, the areas with lighter soils (pink) to heavier soils (still green).
CORN: It has been difficult this year to estimate the size of the 2024 corn crop, as some areas will produce high yields while others had drowned out early on. Most, if not all, corn hybrids have achieved physiological maturity and are starting the process of shedding moisture. Producers have harvested the high moisture corn silage for cattle feed. In the coming weeks, some producers will start to harvest corn with 22-24 percent moisture to try to capture more potential yield. This has its drawbacks as the cost to dry this corn down can outweigh the gained yield. Preliminary scouting has showed that yields will vary greatly from field to field.
The national corn crop is rated at 65% good to excellent, which is up significantly from 51% from last year. Minnesota’s corn crop is rated 63% good to excellent which is up from 41% a year ago. In the monthly USDA Supply & Demand Report released on September 12th, the average national corn yield was estimated to be 183.6 bushels per acre, which is 9.8 bushels per acre more than last year at this time. The USDA yield in Minnesota is also estimated to be about 183 bushels per acre, which is down 2 bushels per acre from a year ago. Again, the strong crop ratings and estimated national yields are why corn prices have decreased. The Minnesota corn crop is 69% dented, which is below the 91% dented at this time last year. This demonstrates that the corn crop could be wetter than last year and we might be incurring additional corn drying expense this fall.
Figure 3 – This is a field that a Preventive Planting claim was filed with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and crop insurance. The soil finally dried out enough in early August to seed oats as a cover crop. Tile was then installed in the wet areas that restricted soybean planting in May/June. We will be leveling these tile lines, spreading fertilizer, and doing fall tillage in order to get this field ready to plant corn in it next spring.
REMARKS: Over the last few months, a possible merger between New Vison Co-op and Crystal Valley Co-op has progressed to the voting stage. We recently attended a meeting discussing the merger that was hosted by both co-ops. New Vision is based out of Brewster and Crystal Valley is based out of Mankato. Both of these local cooperatives are in the grain and crop input (i.e seed/herbicide/fertilizer) markets; however, Crystal Valley has energy products while New Vision has more feed mills. With these products, these co-ops complement each other very well. Another main point brought up at the merger meeting was that both co-ops have a very similar amount of equity. A question we raised was how the accounting software/on-line access they use would be affected by the merger. Both co-ops use differing websites and statements. They plan to keep the current software through at least the end of February and change thereafter if/when the merger would go through.
The boards from both co-ops recommend the merger. The name of the co-op after the merger would be Prairie Valley Ag Cooperative. The main office would be located in Mankato, while the Brewster office would become a regional office. As for leadership, the current CEO of New Vision would become the CEO of Prairie Valley Ag, and the current Crystal Valley CEO would retire. For the first year, the board of directors would be made up of those currently on the boards of both co-ops.
Ballots were recently sent out to the members of each respective co-ops and we have received these on your behalf. If you do business with these co-ops, you are considered a member and have a ballot. If you would like more information on this merger and would like to vote on this matter, please reach out to us ASAP, and we will email you a packet. We need to fill out any ballots by September 27th so that we can submit by the deadline on 8 AM, October 1st. We will not vote on your behalf unless we hear from you.
The grain markets are starting to rebound some, especially in the past 30 days. Soybean prices were as low as $9.25/bushel for cash and $9/bushel for harvest delivery. We sold the last 10% of the 2023 crop and first sale of the 2024 crop for around $9.75/bushel. Hopefully prices will continue to climb here through harvest. Corn prices are holding steady, with cash corn around $4.00/bushel and new crop around $3.80/bushel. There is carry in the corn price, with June-2025 bids around $4.25/bushel.
At the Fairland office, we are coordinating harvest and fall fertilizer plans with our tenants. We are wrapping up crop input billing, working on financial projections, completed estimated tax payments, working on plans for tile/improvement projects yet this fall, and preparing for year-end. We are also being approached on several proposed wind projects/easements and assisting some clients with some estates and estate planning. It is a busy time of the year, but always an exciting time when we get into harvest and see how the crop/yields turn out.
Figure 4 –This picture was taken of ground enrolled in a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). With the dry spring and heavy rains seen throughout the mid-season, many native grasses and plants have emerged from the seed bank and are flourishing. This is refreshing to see as these plants are a staple to healthy CRP acres in this area.
Growing-Degree Days
| May 1, 2024 to DATE INDICATED | TOTAL GROWING DEGREE DAYS | DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL | |
| LOCATION Lamberton |
September 16, 2024 | 2,427 | +32 |
Corn Growing Degree Days are calculated by subtracting a 50 degree base temperature from the average of the maximum and minimum temperature for the day. The daily maximum is limited to 86 degrees and the minimum is 50 degrees.
Grain Markets (September 17, 2024)
| New Vision-Windom | Magnolia | POET Ethanol-Bingham Lake | Minnesota Soybean Processors- Brewster | |
| Cash-Corn | 4.13 | 3.91 | 4.12 | N/A |
| Cash-Soybeans | 9.68 | 9.63 | N/A | 10.21 |
| October-Corn | 3.88 | 3.81 | 3.97 | N/A |
| October -Soybeans | 9.68 | 9.63 | N/A | 9.86 |
Rainfall (Inches):
| County | City | July 11 – September 16, 2024 | March 15 to date-2024 | March 15 to date-2023 |
| Cottonwood | Jeffers | 4.6 | 28.5 | 19.9 |
| Cottonwood | Windom | 3.6 | 24.5 | 13.2 |
| Jackson | Heron Lake | 2.7 | 30.9 | 19.8 |
| Jackson | Jackson | 3.8 | 28.5 | 13.3 |
| Martin | Trimont | 2.8 | 27.7 | 18.4 |
| Murray | Fulda | 2.4 | 29.8 | 20.4 |
| Murray | Slayton |
2.0 |
21.9 | 14.1 |
| Nobles | Round Lake | 3.8 | 32.5 | 16.9 |
| Nobles | Rushmore | 4.0 | 35.6 | 15.7 |
| Rock | Magnolia | 3.0 | 31.3 | 13.6 |
| Watonwan | Darfur | 3.7 | 32.1 | 23.6 |
Samuel G. Dammann
Farm Management Advisor
Klay D. Walinga
President, General Manager
Real Estate Broker
Accredited Farm Manager