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Heat wave raises concerns despite strong Ohio corn, soybean conditions

A central Ohio farmer says his soybeans are finally showing improvement following an early-May freeze event.  Allen Ett says it’s taken awhile for the crop to get going. “The last week to 10 days have started to come out of it really good, starting to grow really well, like you’re used to seeing,” he says.   

As for corn, “We got corn actually starting to tassel a little bit and the corn as a whole in our area, everybody’s looks really good.” 

Ett tells Brownfield he has less than 10 acres of winter wheat to be harvested, and they’ve been planting double-crop beans behind the combine. “It’s really an ideal double crop situation,” he says.  “I mean, you put them in, they’re going into a hot, wet bed, and it’s like five days they are typically out of the ground, five to seven, and this will be great for the double crops.” 

However, he says he is concerned about how this heat wave will impact corn.   

According to the USDA, 1 percent of the corn crop is silking, and 62 percent is rated good to excellent. Three percent of soybeans are blooming with 57 percent rated good to excellent. Seven percent of the winter wheat crop has been harvested, trailing the 5-year average.