Several Cass County corn farmers say they may see record-breaking harvests this fall thanks to “perfect” weather during the spring growing and summer pollination periods.
“I think it’s going to be one of the best crops we’ve ever harvested,” southern Cass County corn farmer Brad Plank said Friday. “We’ve had timely rains and good temperatures for pollination the last two weeks. I can’t complain.”
Another Walton-area farmer, Karl Eshelman, echoed Plank.
“To be honest with you, I’d predict one of the larger crops we’ve grown, ever,” Eshelman said — suggesting it might beat any of the crops recorded in the 40 years he or his father, Dave Eshelman, have been farming.
Corn across the state is showing bumper crop potential, according to Purdue University corn specialist Bob Nielsen. Three-quarters of Indiana corn was in good or excellent condition the week ending July 13, according to a Purdue press release, compared to 80 percent a year ago.
Last year’s crops broke state records, producing 1.03 billion bushels.
Nielsen tempered hope with reality, cautioning that July and August dryness could interfere with the final corn growth.
Cass County farmers admitted few rainstorms could mean simply an “average” crop. But most were optimistic.
Lucerne farmer John Webber said Cass County’s rainfall has been just right so far, stating ideal rainfall is about an inch per week.
“The true test for corn in Cass County, at least, [is] rain in July,” Webber said. “And we’ve gotten a few rains here so far, but there’s not a lot on the horizon as far as fronts coming through.”
One more rainfall by the end of the month would likely yield an above-average crop, he said.
Cornfields planted early this spring finished pollinating during last week’s ideal weather — sunny and cool — and farmers expected the late-planted fields to wrap up pollinating this week Corn that was shoulder-high around the Fourth of July will spend the rest of the summer filling out the kernels, a process Plank said is dependent on getting ideal rainfall.
“You could get a little dry, maybe, and that would probably hurt the corn a little bit, but really, if you get here through July, the crop’s really been made,” Plank said. “There’s not really much threat.”
One threat he hopes won’t materialize is wind damage like that which struck the area during last year’s Cass County 4-H Fair in July, a hope he shares with Eshelman.
“Last year was a good crop, but the windstorm that came in late July really hurt it,” Eshelman said. “It kind of breaks your heart when you’re looking at a real big crop and it all blows over in a day.”
But with yields currently expected to remain high, corn prices are low at the grain markets, as farmers had expected based on the good growing season so far.
Prices are down an estimated $1.30 per bushel, Webber said, compared to this time last year, “because everybody is looking forward to lots of bushels and lots of corn to work with.”