Onto the next year

With the harvest season now a memory, area farmers are wrapping up groundwork and eyeing the 2024 growing season.

According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture, the corn harvest concluded statewide late last month, with only a few stragglers in the southern part of the state still running combines around Thanksgiving. Things concluded much earlier in northwest Iowa, though, and New Century FS agronomist Alic Mohni said farmers were happy this year.

"In our area things finished out pretty good. A lot of farmers were seeing yields between 220-240 [bushels per acre]," he said. "It could be real spotty in some areas that didn't get as much rain. Within a couple miles of each other, yields could vary by 40 bushels."

Mohni said some of the highest corn yields were seen around Royal and Webb, which reached into the upper 200s.

"I heard some people got into the 300s, but they weren't my customers so I'm not sure if that's true or more of a rumor," he said. "Overall in our area, I think we have to be pretty happy with how things turned out."

Once soybeans fields were out, the corn harvest moved along relatively unfettered. The area received a much-needed shot of rain in mid-October and also received some snow before Halloween, but the weather didn't delay progress too greatly.

"Some guys were pretty nervous with the snow we got, but the rest of fall has been really nice and lot of tillage work is getting done," Mohni said.

Subsoil moisture areas in the region were sitting better than the same time last year. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach's fall survey of subsoil moisture in northwest Iowa indicated improved levels of subsoil moisture at 12 of the 18 locations compared to the spring sampling, and improvement at all locations compared to a year ago.

Fall sampling totals at area locations include: Calumet/Sutherland, 8.11 inches; Rossie, 9.10; Sanborn, 6.75; Sibley, 6.31; and Spirit Lake, 7.55. All totals are above fall 2022 levels and all but one (Rossie) are also above spring 2023 levels.

"It's good to see that sitting well and better than last year," said Mohni.