Harvest Most Likely to Start Earlier This Season

Farmers pay close attention to the development stages of their crops and not the calendar when it comes to the starting date for harvest this season.

A large buildup of growing degree days (GDD) in recent months pushed crop development into overdrive.

From May 1 through the end of June, GDD were about 300 above average in Illinois, totaling about 1,200 in the north, 1,400 in central Illinois and 1,500 in the south, according to Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois agronomist.

Most corn hybrids require about 1,400 GDD to reach pollination. Corn silking subsequently was 93 percent complete as of the first of last week, nearly double the average pace of 57 percent.

Nationwide, 63 percent of the corn crop was silking as of July 16, which is the second-fastest pace on record behind the drought year of 2012 when 71 percent of the crop silked as of the same date.

“The crop develops based off heat units, not the calendar,” Lance Tarochione, DEKALB/Asgrow technical agronomist, told the RFD Radio Network® at a recent field day in Monmouth. “This crop is as mature (in mid-July) as it normally would be in August. So, when early September gets here, it’ll be more like late September.”

That means many fields could be ready for harvest before Labor Day, barring a major shift in the weather pattern.

“There’ll be a lot of farmers running (their combines) in August,” Tarochione said.

He believes timely rains currently have the crops set up for big yields in many areas of the state.

“You can find some dry pockets, but the (corn) crop overall looks spectacular,” he said. “Last year, it (the corn yield) was better than it looked. This year, I hope it’s as good as it looks.”

Recent heat and humidity likely increased disease pressure, though, including gray leaf spot in corn. Tarochione said many farmers responded with fungicide applications.

“We’re still in a window for fungicide (applications) in soybeans,” the agronomist said. “But a lot of applications were already made. To get a positive (return on investment) at today’s prices, you need a good yield increase.”