Barren fields?

Bill(Wis) · Jun 16, 2022

I made one of my hysterical/historical voyages from far western New Jersey to Central Siberia on Tuesday, 14 June. I enjoy looking at the farm fields along the way and observed (Yogi Berra said that you can observe a lot by watching) that many, many farm fields in northern Ohio and Indiana have nothing planted in them. Some have burned down crop residue and some of the fields have been tilled exposing the bare soil. The crops that I did see looked rather poorly for this time of year. Yellow, short corn and soybeans just barely poking out of the ground for the most part. A few really nice fields of corn in Indiana but very few. This was along the course of I80 (Ohio and Indiana Turnpikes). I wonder if some of those fields were not planted because of weather conditions or input costs that didn't justify planting? I'm talking, in some cases, whole sections of land. I've never seen this before in all the years I've been traveling this part of our once-great country. ??

J Hamilton · Jun 16, 2022

Here in Southern Illinois wheat harvest is happening like crazy and planting beans right after the wheat is out

caterpillar guy · Jun 16, 2022

It is the weather. We had a very cold wet spring and never did really warm up till the last week and a half. While it has been hot for the last couple days. That is about all the heat we have had for crops all spring. My corn is only about a foot high planted about the 15th of May. Last year we had corn in and waiting on ground to dry out again to plant beans. We were done planting last year by Decoration day. This year we didn't get to start beans till then about. Beans are just about an inch high right now on some of my last planted beans and some just got in the ground on some other ground we work. Lots of open ground to plant around here yet. MI has the lakes keep it cold in the spring while everybody else is gong full bore and sometimes done before we can get to the field. And in the fall the guys west of the lakes are calling for snow and zero we are still above freezing and no snow. So there is good and bad to it.

Bill(Wis) · Jun 16, 2022

Yes, you guys get away with double cropping. I think northern Ohio is a little far north for that but maybe not. I'll have a chance to see in future trips. The fields with burned-down residue have not seen any recent harvesting and I don't remember anything like winter wheat growing there in my recent trips past. They have the appearance of dead cop material.

caterpillar guy · Jun 16, 2022

Wheat will happen in July usually after the 4th and some years more like the 2nd to 3 rd week of july. Oats would usually be about the first week of august during the fair in my county. Beans cut early for wheat planting will be cut wet around 14-16 moisture just to get them off to plant wheat or if it is an operation that would have some corn chopped off that might become some of they're wheat planting.

caterpillar guy · Jun 16, 2022

For double cropping there are a few here will if the wheat is off by 4th July will plant beans if there is a call for rain at that time. I talked to one of them a few years ago, he said he could make 25 bushel work on the double crop.

Leroy · Jun 16, 2022

I live in western Ohio a bit farther south than the turnpike. There are a lot of fields that did not get planted because of rain, Heavy rain and before it was able to get into fields again a heavy rain. What did get in on time got up and looked good but small have had big areas drowned out, some able to get replanted and drounded out again. Have had tornadoes in area. Past corn planting date with water setting in fields now so farmers are going to go with crop insurance prevented planting, Think beans still have a few days to go for that but a lot of ground will not get dry enough to do that. I predict a lot more wheat will be planted this fall if weather turns good for that in ground that was supposed to go to corn or beans this spring. Was a cool spring then jumped to extra hot and heat adviserys out now.

560Dennis · Jun 16, 2022

Interesting observation ! Thanks for sharing that .
I only travel if its absolutely necessary so I wouldnt see . My friend usally plants eighty acres here in Neo ,he didnt this year .

paul · Jun 16, 2022

Some parts of the country are extremely wet, some are extremely dry.

My area was too wet but we got over that. We were too cold for a long time tho.

This happens somewhere every year so not really anything too concerning.

This year the world is a little on edge for grain supplies tho. And the weather issues appear to be a little bigger area than normal. So, it might turn into a bit of a deal.

Wont really know until the combines roll.

Locally the crop is planted, but it is 2-3 weeks behind normal. That could be all right, or it could lead to a wet and lower yielding crop. It probably wont lead to a bin busting big crop.

Paul

tomstractorsandtoys · Jun 16, 2022

To wet to plant. There is way to much money to be made even with high priced inputs to not plant. Tom

DoubleO7 · Jun 16, 2022

Why would they till the fields if they had no intention of planting anything??

Bill(Wis) · Jun 16, 2022

Only answer I can think of would be to kill the weeds without having to spray them. Organic maybe. Do they have any intention to plant anything? Time will tell. I would think they would want to plant something, but what? It's getting too late for corn and soybeans as well.

Leroy · Jun 16, 2022

The intentions are there, weather just has not let them do it and now too late in season to get a crop if weather would get to where they could plant the crop. So when it gets to final planting for crop insurance do you take what you will recieve from the crop insurance or do you forgo any chance to get a insurance payment and try planting a too late crop hopping you get a very late fall and winter and actually get a partial crop that when you put in the inputs you will already have boufgt and paid for and hope they make something being way too late to get a half of normal crop or do you hold the seed you have on hand for next year. And to get prevented planting insurance you have to or did have to show proof of intentions to plant by having the seed bought that you can carry over for planting the next year. If you have gotten it planted and what corn is now up only 2-3 inches and rest of field is drowned out what is the most proffitable or least loss to forget planting or to destroy what you have in?

Leroy · Jun 16, 2022

Nothing else to plant that there is a market for. And corn that would only get to silage stage no market for that as very few dairy heards left.

workstinks · Jun 16, 2022

The burn down you see is a cover crop to prevent wind erosion through the winter months. Being as flat as we are, the wind blows pretty good through here. Many of those fields were probaly planted utilizing no-till farming practices. Until the corn and beans get taller, you really have to look closely. Soy bean planting can go to the first of July around here.

Geo-TH,In · Jun 17, 2022

The farmer across the road double crops except for this year.

No wheat. He planted beans and they took forever to grow. Too cold..

Leroy · Jun 17, 2022

A lot of those burn down grops are actually weeds that got too big to do anything with and were sprayed to kill them and with the size of the sprayer you would be hard to spot the sprayer tracks and even if intended for no till have to get those big weeds killed for a no till planter or drill to work andeasy to spot from road if a no till planter or drill was in field but hard to tell from air. And the smaller weeds or last years corn stalks they could get thru the crop is just too small to see comming up unless you happen to be able to spot bare spots in weeds-corn stalks as the corn is not yet 5 inches tall due to late planting. Yesterday I spoted a farmer trying to top dress a corn field that was only about at most 4 inches tall and half the field the corn was missing due to being drowned out. I think he will not get the cost of the top dressing back and he was top dressing with liquid not anhidrous like most around here use. I tried anhydrous one year and told company come get the outfit after trying one field and went to 28% for rest of my farming time. never top dressed corn before just in row fertilizer. probably 10 years since I farmed. But I still rember things. Wheat is turning yellow now.

INCase · Jun 17, 2022

i would second that. i haven't seen any fields around us that haven't been planted. its been a cool spring so things maybe arent growing as fast as usual but the soil in norhern Indiana is pretty light so its easier to get into that some places. its been a bit dry but we had some storms this week that helped out. hay guys have had a pretty good window for 1st cutting and grass hay that's not been cut yet is 4ft give or take.

Bill(Wis) · Jun 17, 2022

I'll be watching.

Ted in NE-OH · Jun 17, 2022

Still planting beans in North-east Ohio.

Barren fields?

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