First Harvest Reports: New harvest reports and audio interviews

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October 10, 2008

Harvest slowly progressing
Weather continues to be the primary concern as harvest efforts continue in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa.

Below are the newest harvest summaries from the field, brought to you by Corn & Soybean Digest magazine with sponsorship from Bayer CropScience. To view the full reports with the listing of each hybrid visit www.firstseedtests.com. The site is newly redesigned and easy to navigate to find the most recent reports, information by region and archives of reports from previous years.

Also, look for the links below to the FIRST Videos and audio interviews. The audio clips are updated with new information each Wednesday direct from the managers in the field. Or, click here for VIDEO or here for AUDIO.

Many growers across the Midwest understand the importance of having good, strong plant stands early in planting season, particularly with all the moisture Mother Nature brought this spring.

In West-Central Illinois trials, one plot saw snow, sleet and rain on planting day, yet the plant stands were uniform and vigorous after emergence.

The top 10 yields in the full-season test were all protected by Poncho^® seed treatments from Bayer CropScience. Poncho provided crops the starts they needed to yield more than 245 bu./acre.

Growers who use seed treated with Poncho, the No.1 seed-applied insecticide, know their crops have proven protection. For more information on the Poncho family of seed treatments, click here: bayercropscienceus.com/products_and_seeds/seed_treatments/poncho.html

F.I.R.S.T. CORN PROGRESS REPORT
Illinois East Central, Illinois South and Illinois West Central
Eric Beyers

Harvested Oct. 6, the Jewett, IL, site yielded an average of 224.8 bu./acre for the early season test. Farmer George Holsapple says they are the highest corn yields he’s ever seen on his farm. Surprisingly, this site was a replant on May 24 after the initial April 29 planting was flooded out from big rains.
Jewett, IL – Early Season Test

The Tuscola, IL, location received 3.5 in. of rain on Sept. 21, along with 4-5 in. of hail. The leaves were completely removed, but the stalks stood straight. The field was harvested Oct. 2 with an average yield of 186.0 bu./acre on the early season test.
Tuscola, IL – Early Season Test

When 2,4-D was post-applied to the Williamsville, IL, location, the spray booms did not line up correctly between rows. This caused some damage to plant growth. To salvage the plot, damaged rows were discarded before collecting harvest data. The field was harvested Oct. 3 with an average yield of 217.9 bu./acre on the early season test.
Williamsville, IL – Early Season Test

Cold and wet conditions at planting on May 3 continued for several weeks after planting at the Virden, IL, site. However, the plant stands were very uniform and ear and kernel development was outstanding. The field was harvested Oct. 4 with an average yield of 232.4 bu./acre on the early season test.
Virden, IL – Early Season Test

The Tremont, IL, location is a corn-on-corn site. The field was planted May 9 and harvested Oct. 4 with an average yield of 224.2 bu./acre on the early season test.
Tremont, IL – Early Season Test

From planting on May 8 at the Watseka, IL, field, this location received ample moisture through the growing season - including a 7 in. flooding rain in mid-June. The average yield was 233.5 bu./acre on the early season test.
Watseka, IL – Early Season Test

Illinois North
Jason Beyers

The Sublette, IL, location had a tough beginning with some flooding when the corn was about 6 in. tall. At harvest on Oct. 2, all of the corn was standing, with no evidence of disease pressure. The site averaged 229.1 bu./acre on the early season test.
Sublette, IL – Early Season Test

The Walnut, IL, plot had an excellent start with near-perfect emergence on every hybrid. Heavy rains early in the season produced ponding over most of the plot for a short time, but almost all hybrids recovered well. Disease and insect pressure were minimal. The early season test yielded 200.7 bu./acre.
Walnut, IL – Early Season Test

Indiana South
Rich Schleuning

Good weather in May and June helped the Dale, IN, field get off to a good start. The field was mistakenly sprayed with Roundup in the spring, and strong winds created by Hurricane Ike caused high lodging of 52.3% in the field. The plot was harvested on Oct. 2 and posted an average yield of 138.6 bu./acre on the early season test.
Dale, IN – Early Season Test

The data from the Huntingburg, IN, plot was rejected. Above-average rainfall in May thinned the final stand resulting in the loss of one rep and making the data unreliable.
Huntingburg, IN – Early Season Test

Iowa West Central
Chris Clark

The Earlham, IA, location was planted May 5. On June 25, the location had baseball-sized hail, which did cause yield losses. On Oct. 1, plant stand loss was estimated at 26% from the hail. Thus, the plot was harvested on Oct. 3 while remaining stalks were still standing well. The plot posted an average yield of 162.7 bu./acre on the early season test, which was better than expected.
Earlham, IA – Early Season Test

Weeds have long been the No. 1 challenge for corn and soybean growers. Now, they are dealing with a growing number of tough-to-control or herbicide-resistant weeds. They need more choices.

Growers now have a new option with LibertyLink^® soybeans, available for planting in 2009. LibertyLink soybeans and new Ignite^® herbicide offer growers the only nonselective alternative to the Roundup Ready^® system, providing similar benefits but with a different mode of action.

With Ignite, growers will see quick results. Ignite controls more than 120 broadleaf weeds and grasses, including resistant weeds, in days – not weeks.

To learn more about the new LibertyLink soybeans and the power of Ignite herbicide, click here: bayercropscienceus.com/products_and_seeds/herbicides/ignite.html.

F.I.R.S.T. SOYBEAN PROGRESS REPORT
Illinois North, Iowa North and Wisconsin South
Jason Beyers

Despite large amounts of rain that caused some areas of ponding at the Walnut, IL, plot throughout the growing season, there was little evidence of any diseases. The average yield was 57.4 bu./acre.
Walnut, IL – Soybeans

The Grand Ridge, IL, location was planted May 15, and the site was accidentally planted with several thousand more seeds than anticipated. Thus, stands were heavy with about 10% lodging at harvest. The plot had an average yield of 78.7 bu./acre.
Grand Ridge, IL – Soybeans

Limited rainfall kept most of the varieties at the New Hampton, IA, location short with plants 14-28 in. tall. Larges clusters of pods were filled with large seeds, and the plot had an average yield of 66.7 bu./acre.
New Hampton, IA – Soybeans

The Lancaster, WI, location was planted May 16, and by August, the field was quite dry. More than half of the varieties had green stems and green leaves at harvest on Oct. 9. The plot had an average yield of 72.5 bu./acre.
Lancaster, WI – Soybeans

Indiana North and Indiana Central
Rich Schleuning

Lack of rain in July and August created dry conditions at the Greensburg, IN, location, so the average yield of 52.1 bu./acre was better than expected.
Greensburg, IN – Soybeans

Good field conditions at planting and throughout the growing season helped make a nice final stand at the Otterbein, IN, location. Average yield was 68.4 bu./acre.
Otterbein, IN – Soybeans

After three attempts, the Wolcott, IN, location was finally planted on May 22. Harvest was slow as some varieties had green stems and the beans were dry. Average yield was 65.1 bu./acre.
Wolcott, IN – Soybeans

Listen to the regional reports
FIRST Regional Managers take a minute from their busy harvest schedules to share details on “what they are seeing in the field” each week while they harvest the test plots. Just click and listen to the audio FIRST harvest reports, for more details updated every week!

See the FIRST Videos
And, don’t miss the informational FIRST Videos from FIRST staff members explaining the testing organization, taking you to a testing plot, and some tips on how to use information in the FIRST harvest reports. You’ll want to take a moment to watch!

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