By Lori Ehde
After receiving no rainfall during the critical growing periods of July and early August, things looked bleak for Rock County corn and soybean producers.
"We were predicting a 35 percent yield loss for corn and 30 percent for beans," said Rock County Extension Educator Fraser Norton.
Thirty-percent losses qualify for disaster aid, so local officials applied to get Rock County designated a drought disaster area.
The day Rock County applied for federal drought relief, it rained.
And it continued to rain until the final tally for Aug. 21 came to nearly 6 inches in Rock County.
Rock County Emergency Management Coordinator Kyle Oldre mailed the drought disaster that day, and he joked that he better get started on the flood disaster application.
The rain was a welcome sight, but as far as most people knew, it was too late to help the drought-beaten crops.
Rock County’s average rainfall during the growing season of May 1 through Sept. 30 is 16.76, but by the second week in August, local fields had seen less than half that amount.
"We had almost no rain in July, when corn needs it, and we had no rain in early August, when beans need it," Norton said.
Yields are ‘average’ despite disaster prediction
Hind sight is 20-20.
He was right about the Aug. 21 downpour having little effect on the yields, Norton and most local crop producers underestimated the power of good soil and improved genetics.
With the local harvest nearly complete, average yields this fall are coming in right in line with Rock County’s four-year average (1998-2001): 148 bushels per acre for corn and 46 bushels per acre for soybeans.
"I have heard people say time and time again how surprised they are at both soybean and corn yields," Norton said.
"Beans have been in the 50s in some fields and corn has been in the 170s."
He said this year’s growing conditions in most regions would have resulted in a drought disaster.
"But we’ve got good, rich soil here," he said. "And it’s amazing how genetics have progressed. This would have never turned out this way in the old days."
Rock County’s heavier soils are in the southwest townships, and that’s where the higher yields are reflected,
Dave Leenderts, agronomy production specialist at Hills-Beaver Creek Co-op, Hills, said corn yields there averaged 140-175 bushels per acre, and soybeans were in the upper 40s to upper 50s.
Those yields are typical for Hills, but Leenderts said farmers were bracing for the effects of drought.
"It was a lot better than what we anticipated," Leenderts said. "The guys were pleasantly surprised."
He said soybean yields dropped in the second week of September when a hail storm in the southern half of the county dropped yields by at least 15 percent.
Though the soil is typically lighter in northern Rock County, some fields there also showed some surprising yields.
Lloyd Bergman, who farms land near Kenneth, said corn yields varied from 20 to 150 bushels per acre on their land.
"I’ve never seen anything like it," Bergman said. "On the good soil, we saw good yields, but on the poor soil, we didn’t do so good."
He said stalks growing in lighter soil got too dry during pollination, but those that were able to pollinate produced large, full ears.
Considering the county was headed for disaster, Norton said the end result is positive.
"People are so happy with their yields because they were writing off getting anything from some fields, and even those produced something," Norton said.
"I’m certainly not seeing a disaster here."
Prices are up
To top it off, market prices are higher this year than they were last year at this time.
"Corn and beans are well above what they were a year ago," Norton said.
According to Monday’s data, the price of corn was $2.12 per bushel, and soybeans were at $5.29 per bushel. That compares with last year’s data on the same date of $1.69 corn and $3.99 beans.
"We’re well above the loan rate, so there’s risk in storing. Last year was a year for storing. This year is not," Norton said.
"Sell at harvest and don’t store … especially for soybeans. They’ll pay you more today than they will in January, and they’ll pay you more in January than they will in February. Get rid of it and move on."
Disaster aid
approved Friday
Despite the positive outcome of this year’s harvest, some producers, may qualify for low-interest emergency loans through the Farm Service Agency.
In an FSA statement released Friday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman encouraged qualified producers to apply.
FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
Producers who don’t qualify for the emergency aid may benefit from other FSA programs. For example, earlier this year, Veneman authorized emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acres.
Signup for the Livestock Compensation Program ends Dec. 13.
Rock County FSA director Roger Carlson can be reached at 283-2369. More information about the drought disaster relief can be found at www.fsa.usda.gov.