How does corn and soybean harvest stack up among these three top states?

Corn and soybean harvest is sailing along Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska. In all three states, corn harvest is nearing the halfway mark, and soybean harvest is even further along. Here’s a closer look at harvest progress for all three states using pie charts and input from agronomists.

Comparing corn harvest and yield

Illinois corn harvest reached 49% the week ending Oct. 13, 5 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. Based on acreage data published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in June, this means there are just under 5.5 million acres of corn still to be harvested in the state.

Agronomist Phil Krieg of Syngenta described corn yields as “good to very good.” Those in his territory, which spans southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana, range from 180 bushels per acre (bpa) to 220 bpa, and sometimes higher. Krieg said, “Corn moisture is generally above 20% with a fair bit still holding in the 20% to 25% range.”

Nebraska is 45% complete with corn harvest, said USDA. That’s 10 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. According to NASS acreage data, this means there are still just over 5.3 million acres of corn to be harvested in the state.

Syngenta agronomist Travis Gustafson said, “Corn harvest in Nebraska has been progressing along very quickly. There are no weather concerns slowing down combines and grain moisture has been in the ideal 15% to 17% range.” According to Gustafson, farmers in the state are seeing irrigated corn yields in the 260 bpa to 280 bpa range.

As of Oct. 13, Iowa’s corn harvest also reached 45%, 13 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. Based on the NASS’s acreage data, this means there are still about 6.9 million acres of corn to be harvested in the state.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said that “warm and dry conditions continued across much of the state last week, providing a window for significant harvest progress.” 

As for conditions, over three-quarters of the corn crop in both Iowa and Illinois was rated good or excellent. Overall, USDA rated Illinois’ corn 1% very poor, 5% poor, 18% fair, 55% good, and 21% excellent. The agency rated Iowa’s corn 1% very poor, 4% poor, 19% fair, 56% good, and 20% excellent.

Nebraska’s corn condition was rated behind that of Illinois and Iowa. USDA rated the crop 4% very poor, 8% poor, 21% fair, 48% good, 19% excellent.

Comparing soybean harvest and yield

Soybean harvest is even further along than corn harvest in all three states. As of Oct. 13, Illinois soybean harvest had reached 62%, 15 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. Based on acreage data published by the NASS in June, this means there are still just over 4 million acres of soybeans to be harvested in the state.

Krieg said that the state’s soybeans are coming off quickly thanks to the dry and warm weather last week, but those conditions come with a price: “Moisture is very low with many fields below 10% moisture, which increases shattering and header losses.” Krieg added that soybean size is small, which makes it difficult for growers to set combines appropriately. According to the agronomist, drought conditions in August and September have led to yields 10% to 15% below expectations.

Nebraska farmers are 70% complete with soybean harvest, said USDA. That’s 8 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. According to the NASS, this means there are just under 1.6 million acres of soybeans to be harvested in the state.

Gustafson said that “soybean harvest is basically done in Nebraska south of Interstate 80.” According to the agronomist, “There are still many beans left to cut in other parts of the state, but progress is moving along rapidly due to favorable weather. Many parts of Nebraska will or have experienced the first freeze of the season, so this should help to drop any remaining soybean leaves and help dry out green stems.” Gustafson said that yields of irrigated soybeans are around 80 bpa.

As for Iowa soybean harvest, farmers in the state had harvested 81% of the crop by Oct. 13. Based on acreage data from the NASS, this means there are still about 1.87 million acres of soybeans to be harvested in the state.

According to Secretary Naig, “Despite cooler temperatures, mostly dry conditions are expected to persist in the week ahead, allowing harvest activity to steadily roll on. However, outlooks into the second half of October show rainfall potential.”

Days suitable for fieldwork

All three states had nearly a full week suitable for fieldwork the week ending Oct. 13. According to USDA, both Nebraska and Illinois had 6.9 out of 7 days, while Iowa was just behind with 6.8 days.

Gustafson said Nebraska had an excellent week of harvest weather with fairly warm daytime temperatures and cool nights. “Many parts of Nebraska experienced the first freeze of the season through the night of Oct. 13, so this should help in drying down some of the later planted fields.”

Krieg described the weather in his area as “dry and warm to hot and quite humid.” He added that “A cool front rolled in late on [Oct. 12] and humidity and temperatures dropped. Winds picked up and drying conditions improved significantly.”

State Climatologist Justin Glisan said in the Iowa Ag News report released Oct. 15, “The second reporting period of October was the driest of the year with only a few stations reporting trace amounts of rainfall; October so far is running just under 10% of normal precipitation.”