Soy Food Crop Update

Michigan Region

Southern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois

November 16: Harvest is slowly wrapping up here in southern Wisconsin. We’ve had some early rains that really dampened Wisconsin soybean harvest progress for the state. NASS has Wisconsin reported as 89% complete at the beginning of the week. We did have a nice stretch of weather this week that should allow farmers to wrap up the 2023 soybean harvest. In our area we look to have average yields to slightly below average. Initial reports from area growers are that they are overall pleased with the yields they’ve gotten due to some of the lack of rain we had this year at the end of August & September.

Update provided by Cameron Hilgenberg – The DeLong Company

November 9: Unfortunately, harvest has not concluded here in Michigan. 

We are still grinding it out to get our remaining acres out of the fields. We have received constant precipitation since… well the 4^th of July really. Most crops and fieldwork have been delayed as a result.  

Despite the conditions, yield and quality seem to be holding their own and doing okay. However, moisture levels will be a bit concerning given our conditions. 

Update provided by Chaise Wilson – Star of the West Milling Co 

North Carolina Region:

October 22: The crop is finishing on a good note here in North Carolina.  Combines are just starting to get in the fields.  Yields and quality seem to be average to good.  The weather has been favorable with sunny days and cooler temperatures.  We are expecting our first frost which is needed for most of the soybeans to be harvested. 

Update provided by Danny Lassiter of Lassiter Family Farms – North Carolina Farmer  

Northeast Ohio Update:

October 12: Soybeans for us in NE Ohio and many of our contract growers began on October 4th last week.  We were stalled out by some rain at the end of the week, and this week has been slow moving due to lake effect cold and drizzly conditions.  IP beans for ourselves and many of our contract growers have been smaller in size than a normal year and we believe this was due to the weather we had this year.  The other issue we have seen this year is that the soybeans have been a bit dirtier than most years due to a lot of weed control issues.  White Mold seems to have had a lot of pressure this year in many varieties - we have seen this in commodity beans at our elevator as well.  Yields seem to be average at best with most producers being slightly under average so far.  We are only in the beginning stages of harvest, so hopefully some of our later planted beans will have better yields.  Our current moisture average for this harvest season is running at 13.5% overall for all varieties.   

Update provided by Scwartz Farms – John Schwartz  

Southern Wisconsin/ Southern Illinois Update:   

October 10: Harvest is in full swing here in Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.  We’ve had a nice stretch of weather here in the last 6-10 days to allow for a majority of bean harvest to wrap up.  Farmers are hitting harvest hard early this week as rain is in the forecast. We are projecting to be closing to 75% done with bean harvest by the end of this week in Southern Wisconsin, and closer to 85% in our Northern Illinois area. Initial yields are mixed across the board, but we look to have an average year for yield in our draw area. 

Update provided by The DeLong Company – Cameron Hilgenberg 

Michigan Region

October 4: The harvest in our area is just now firing up as the temperatures have warmed up nicely here with some good sun, thus creating pleasant weather for some harvest activity. Weed and white mold pressure are common in most fields this year after a very wet summer. This pressure may impact some harvest activity in certain regions. The quality of the beans with early deliveries appears to be above average. Too early to determine the overall yield expectations.   

Update provided by Chaise Wilson – Star of the West Milling Co 

Michigan Crop Update

August 28: Field Crops: Last week thunderstorms and high winds brought an abundance of rain to the South-Central and Southeast parts of the Lower Peninsula, according to Marlo D. Johnson, Director of the Great Lakes Regional Office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. There were 4.3 days suitable for fieldwork in Michigan during the week ending August 27, 2023. Strong thunderstorms, high winds and tornados last week negatively impacted some field crops in Southern Michigan. Some farmers reported more than 3 inches of rain at their farms from localized heavy rains Thursday evening. Weather early in the week was conducive for hay cutting and bailing. Corn silage harvest was underway on some farms. Other activities last week included assessing damages from storms, planting cover crops, and prepping harvest equipment. 

North Dakota Crop Report

August 27: Field Crops Report: Soybean condition rated 5% very poor, 15% poor, 34% fair, 40% good, and 6% excellent. Soybeans setting pods was 95%, near 94% last year, and equal to the five-year average. Dropping leaves was 4%, near 3% last year, but behind 13% average. Spring wheat condition rated 7% very poor, 24% poor, 34% fair, 33% good, and 2% excellent. Dry edible bean condition rated 6% very poor, 13% poor, 40% fair, 38% good, and 3% excellent. Dry edible beans setting pods was 97%, near 96% last year, and equal to average. Dropping leaves was 50%, well ahead of 20% last year, and near 48% average. Alfalfa condition rated 5% very poor, 9% poor, 30% fair, 53% good, and 3% excellent. Alfalfa second cutting was 91%, near 94% last year and 89% average. Lentils harvested was 79%, well ahead of 33% last year and 43% average. 

Minnesota Crop Conditions

August 27: Field Crop report: Soybeans were 97 percent setting pods, 5 days ahead of last year but equal to the 5-year average. Soybeans reached 25 percent turning color and started dropping leaves at 3 percent. Soybean condition was 49 percent good to excellent. Barley was 69 percent harvested, oats were 84 percent harvested, and spring wheat was 57 percent harvested. Dry edible beans reached 98 percent setting pods and 47 percent dropping leaves. Dry edible beans condition was 62 percent good to excellent. The potato crop was 14 percent harvested with condition of the crop rating 84 percent good to excellent. Sugarbeet harvest was at 3 percent and the condition was rated 93 percent good to excellent. Sunflower condition was 64 percent good to excellent. 

National Drought Monitor 

Update provided by Chaise Wilson – Star of the West Milling 

Update from Western Minnesota

August 14: Crop condition have vastly improved with having a couple of rain events in the area that were just in time to help boost soybean.  Area growers have been spraying for aphids.  

We have had a couple rain events in the last two weeks with giving areas 3-5” of moisture.  We have a forecast of mid 80’s for temps which is ideal for for soybeans to finish pod fill. 

Provided by Travis Meyer – Brushvale Seed, Ince 

Update from Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois

August 16: Soybean conditions here in Southern Wisconsin & Northern Illinois have improved with the rain we've received over the last 30 days.   Since August southern Wisconsin to north Illinois has received 1- 3 inches of rain, which will help with current weather models showing the 6-10 day weather outlook to be hot & dry. The rain we have received were critical for the growth stages we are seeing here to help solidify crop yields soybean growth stages range from R3-R5, with little to no reports of diseases or pest issues from our team of agronomists.  Wisconsin has marked 54% across the state as good to excellent with Illinois showing 70% as good to excellent as well.  We are now in the home stretch where we’ve received the critical July/August rains to help with crop yields. We look to have a normal crop yield for our area as reported by our originators. 

Provided by Cameron Hilgenberg – The DeLong Company  

Update for Southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina

July 17: The soy food crop in the SEVA/NENC area is mixed bag. With dry weather until the last 10days.  Full season beans are not much ahead of the double crop behind barley and wheat.  Recent scattered showers have the crop now in good shape just a little behind normal.   

Provided by Donny Lassiter, Lassiter Family Farms – North Carolina  

Update for Michigan –

July 17: The Michigan soybean crop has been stressed as a result of dry weather. This put the crop behind. In the past few weeks we have been finally receiving some much needed rain. The plants are trying to catch up but the clock is ticking. 

The next few weeks will be very important as blossom should be starting soon on the longer season soybeans. 

Provided by Bruce Wymer, Star of the West Milling  

Wisconsin/ Illinois Area update   

July 12: In Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois crop conditions have improved with much needed recent rains after a very dry June.  Fields across WI and IL are all in very different growth stages ranging anywhere from R1 to R3.  Our agronomists have not reported many cases of disease or pests as of now.  Rain totals have equaled anywhere from 1” – 4” across much of this area in the last 10 days.  Weather probability is forecasted in the next 6-10 days as near normal for temperature and precipitation.  Wisconsin has marked 42% of soybeans across the state good to excellent with 38% rated fair.  Illinois are 35% good to excellent across the state and hopefully with these recent rains we will start to see those ratings climb for both Illinois and Wisconsin.  We are approaching the all-important period of July 15 - August 31, where the growth stage for soybeans will require timely rains to determine crop yield. 

Austin DeLong – The DeLong Co., Inc.  

Western Wisconsin update

July 11: Most areas received rains of 1-2” over the last several weeks which has helped alleviate many of the concerns from last month for soybeans. 

Comments provided by Jon Miller, Wheaton Grain - jon@wheatongrain.com 

NW MO/Southern IA 

July 7: Current crop conditions are overall good to above average. Timely rains have allowed residuals to activate properly to help maintain clean fields. Some fields may show signs of weed pressure due lack of field access for sprayers due to wet soils. No signs of extreme heat stress, or insect pressure yet.  

Early rains made it difficult for some to plant on time, which resulted in wet planting conditions and open row slices. Dry spell after planting made it tough for plants to emerge and break through crusted soil but encouraged hearty root development. Stands are average.  

Eastern MO 

July 7: Current crop conditions are average to below average. Plants are experiencing drought conditions in the majority of the area.  

Weather conditions are poor to very poor with less than average rainfall. Future forecast is not looking promising. They will need heavy rains over the next 4 weeks for plants to recover and regain yield potential.  

Central to Eastern Kansas 

July 7: Current crop conditions are excellent. Majority of fields are very clean, with little to no insect or weed pressure. Could be bumper crop in some areas in central Kansas. 

Weather conditions are good to excellent with above average rainfall. July looks like above average moisture.  

Notes: Some very dry areas in North Central Kansas but May and June rain may have helped them out.  

Additional Notes/Disclaimer: Rains have been extremely scattered throughout our entire footprint (mainly Central KS to Eastern MO, and Southern IA to Southern MO) so the general report can be difficult to report on. 

Provided by Michael Moritz , IP Crops Manager -

michael.moritz@lathropfsg.com 

Virginia Update

June 19: All full-season crop planting is complete. Mild temperatures and average rainfall in most areas have been conducive to emergence and vegetative growth. However, a large portion of Western VA and several counties in Eastern NC are below average on June rainfall. No concerns at this point given the early growth stage, but those areas will need to receive substantive rainfall in the next couple of weeks to maintain top-end potential.  

Double crop planting is approximately 60% complete. Above average small grain (barley/wheat) yields and scattered showers across VA and NC have slowed harvest and planting progress. There is additional rainfall forecasted for most areas this week, so additional delays may occur. Planting is historically complete on/before July 4 and that target is still possible with good conditions next week. 

Comments provided by Tom Taliaferro, Montague Farms  

Wisconsin/ Illinois area

June 14: Our soybean area is 100% planted and currently being rated as 62% good to excellent and 30% fair by the USDA, which I would agree with.  We have not seen much measurable rain since Mother’s Day weekend.  Over this past weekend, several parts of the central plains and Midwest saw showers. Most places recorded having .10” - .5”, while some other spots recorded over 1”. While some precipitation is better than none, many of these places could still use more.  Looking ahead this week, there are chances for rain in many areas.  The soybean crop in our area is in early growth stages and not needing a tremendous amount of moisture, but we will soon enter very important growth stages that will determine quality and yield.   

Provided by Austin DeLong – The DeLong Co., Inc. 

Western Wisconsin Area

June 14: Planting went very well but now since then there has only been about an inch of rain which is becoming more concerning. There have been spotty showers but not as much as we would hope to see. Crop Conditions keep grinding lower up until this point. 

Provided by Jon Miller – Wheaton Grain 

Red River Valley/Brushvale Seed, Inc.

June 12: Everyone in the area is nearly complete, 99-100% done.  We have some dry areas, and some soybeans were planted into dry dirt. We have had above average temperatures the last 10 days with a few average temperatures over the weekend which was a nice relief.  Looking out the next 7-10 days looks to above average temperatures. We seem to be in a dry pattern right now.  Rain is very spotty at best; we have had popcorn showers popping up in the late afternoon to early evening and if you are under the right cloud, you may pick up .50”- 2” of moisture in a very short time.  The whole area would welcome a nice general rain of 1”- 2” any time. We will need a rain sooner than later but overall, all of the crops are generally still looking good. 

Michigan report provided by Star of the West Milling:

June 12: All the non-GMO food grade soybeans have been planted in Michigan. It has been very hot and dry as emergence is a little uneven. A nice rain would do wonderful things to these very small soybeans. Rain is in the forecast - any and all rain will be appreciated. 

For more information contact: Bruce Wymer <bruce.wymer@starofthewest.com 

Northeast North Carolina Update:

June 5, 2023 : So far, 30% of our food crop has been planted. The weather and moisture situation post planting has been good but cooler than normal temperatures. The condition of the crops are good with no pest problems to note. The outlook for yield and production of this year's food bean crop is looking average. Crop is growing slowly and looks behind by planting date.  Warmer weather should fix any problems we are seeing in the crop. 

Michigan: 

May 15: The Crop Progress for Michigan (Star of the West). 

The spring planting started out slow with wet and cold conditions. In the past few weeks, the weather has become warmer and there is less rain. The planting conditions are good, and the progress of planted acres has increased. Currently, we are according to the USDA regulation, 33% was planted with the 5 year average being 31%.  Planting is continuing at a very fast pace and the weather looks to favor the fast pace. 

For more information contact: Bruce Wymer <bruce.wymer@starofthewest.com 

Ohio and Indiana: 

May 15: Planting progress – the IOM region is running 20% ahead of 5-year average to the west of us; east is significantly wetter, but we are showing excellent progress this week. Some areas of Ohio are delayed.  

Corn planted the week of 4/11/23 V1 stage 

Soybeans planted the week of 4/11/23  Vc stage 

Warming up nicely and starting to miss a few rains allowing those that were drenched last week with 3 inches of rain to have some hope. Subsoil moisture – Good; 1 inch soil moisture – adequate. 

We have had good weather breaks allowing some early groundwork, manure and fertilizer spreading as well as ample to get pre-emergence herbicides down. 

Comments provided by IOM Grain. 

Planting Progress and Weather from Western Wisconsin. 

May 15: The Non Gmo Soybeans have all been planted and are up or coming up in very good condition. Planting was a week later than normal but as it looks right now the crop looks great. Moisture levels have been good so far as well.   

Comments provided by Jon Miller at Wheaton Grain - jon@wheatongrain.com