Corn yields in the Mid-Atlantic are holding up better than some growers feared after a dry spring and summer, according to certified crop adviser Ben Hushon of The Mill in White Hall, Maryland, who says early harvest reports are generally running between 180 and 220 bushels an acre.

The region received about half its normal rainfall through April, May, June and July, Hushon said, before more regular rain in August helped stabilise the crop as it matured.

Harvest began around mid-September on shorter-season corn of 95- to 98-day hybrids, but most corn in the area is planted at 105 to 118 days, so the bulk of the harvest is still ahead. Some producers think yields may end 20 to 30 bushels below a very good year; growers are encouraged, he said, because the early fields are not necessarily their best ground.

The coming weeks will show whether later-maturing corn in Pennsylvania and Maryland keeps up the better-than-feared trend.

Photo: Tim McCabe, USDA NRCS / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Source: All Ag News