Ninth state in a 12-state tour
By Andrea Gal
Managing Editor, Integrated Media
Farms.com
The Farms.com Risk Management team stopped in Minnesota on Day 11 of the fifth annual U.S. Corn Belt Crop Tour.
Moe Agostino, Farms.com Risk Management chief commodity strategist, was looking to see if “Minnesota is that ‘garden spot’ that everyone is talking about.”
Scott Ruppert, a farmer from Currie, Minnesota, explained “last year was just a picture. Everything came up the same day, it grew the same height – it was just great.”
In terms of the 2016 crop, Ruppert noted “the potential (is) still here” for strong yields but said it is getting dry. “It has been over two weeks” since the area received rain.
After traveling across much of the state, Agostino said “I don’t see the ‘garden spot.’” He highlighted the “variability from county to county, field to field, (and) farmer to farmer.”
Some fields, such as corn fields south of Hutchinson, Minnesota, had sections that were “drowned out” earlier in the year. Now, though, conditions “have gotten very dry and you are seeing crusted soil and cracks in this particular section.”
He explained, however, that “for every drowned-out field, or sections of a field, there (are) some really good-looking field(s).”
In terms of staging, the soybeans are in flower and the corn is expected to be in tassel around the middle or end of the month.
Agostino gave the crops a score of 8 or 8.5 out of 10, explaining that the crop is “above average.”
Be sure to check back daily as more videos from the tour are posted. The next stop on the tour is Iowa.
Use the hashtag #cornbelt16 to follow the tour on social media.