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Michigan yields have been impressive considering stressors

A technical agronomist says Michigan’s silage harvest should be an early indicator of how crops performed under extreme conditions this year.

DEKALB Asgrow’s Doug George tells Brownfield production has been a pleasant surprise following the June drought in many regions.

“When our weather turned around in July and August, it just gave us a bump in plant health, allowed us to fill these kernels out, great kernel depth and size,” he says.  “Now when these choppers are running, we’re just seeing some really nice performance.”

George says he’s also seeing average to above-average soybean yields. 

He credits genetic advancements for better-than-expected production numbers, but for corn harvest advises, “Don’t wait.”  “Some of the stresses that we went through are going to start showing up this fall,” he says. “You’re going to see some stalk integrity start to go down as we get later in the season, so don’t wait for this corn to dry down. If you get a chance to get it, I’d be getting it.”

He also recommends farmers dial in their management of plant populations, row spacing, variety selection, and fungicide applications to counter white mold pressure in soybeans if they had outbreaks this year.