Day one of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour saw the western leg make stops in southeast South Dakota. The route ended with 157.2 bushels per acre yield for corn, 33 percent higher than last year’s number. Soybeans were above average at 1,013 pods in a three-foot-by-three-foot area, 16 percent higher than in 2022.
Western leg leader Chip Flory says southeast South Dakota made a nice rebound from last year.
“Go back to 2022. The area north of the tour area, a part of South Dakota that we were not in, was the best-yielding part of the state. This year, it may not be the best-yielding part of the state, but it’s not going to do a whole lot to hurt the state average yield in South Dakota this year as well. So, we’re getting help from the northern part of the state, and the southern part of the state is a whole lot better than what it was a year ago, up 33 percent. So, it’s an impressive recovery.”
He says South Dakota should produce a solid soybean crop this fall.
“Soybeans, that part count of 1,013 is a nice recovery from a year ago as well, as long as we don’t burn it up here this week. I think that bean crop will be all right. So, 1,013 isn’t the big number that Brian saw on the eastern leg of the tour in Ohio, but it’s big enough to build a respectable bean crop in South Dakota.”
Hurley, South Dakota farmer Darren Ihnen says rains late in the growing season have been helpful.
“Well, we’ve been getting rains just in time, sparingly. I think the beans would be decent because the late rains have helped them. Corn looks good from the road, but when you get in there, spots are maybe 14 around instead of 18, so it’ll be hitting masters, depending on where you’re at. You don’t have to go too far north or south, and it’s a lot worse.”
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