As harvest approaches, farmers start looking more closely at their crops and how they’re likely to yield once their combines roll. They begin to notice certain things that impact the crop in each field during the growing season, which are now visible as the crop matures. Stalk quality, disease levels, plant health, drought tolerance, and management are all indicators of the kind of growing season it has been. As a result, what comes to most growers’ minds is which varieties are best at resisting those problems and will yield the most. They start deciding which ones need to be eliminated from their program. However, that line of thinking is most often misdirected.
It’s fall when every field in our area displays the results of a sometimes-challenging year. The impact of the 1000 variables on the crop has affected each field’s overall performance. Some of the effects were positive, and some were negative. In addition, the grower’s attention to detail paid off this year by ensuring the crop and the field were protected as much as possible from those variables. We know growers with even the best intentions and attention to detail were negatively impacted at points throughout the season by things out of their control.
It can tell you a lot when you judge a field this time of year. It may tell you what a great job you did. It may be showing you areas you can improve or telling you there is nothing else you could have done.
You did everything you could do if you stayed focused on maximizing yield in each field by:
- planting one variety in a field
- following the Top 5 Factors
- planting in the best conditions possible to ensure even emergence
- following the cropping plan to protect the crop during the growing season
The results in the field will reflect that. So, give yourself a pat on the back where things went as planned, a mild kick in the shin where you could have done better, and a shrug of the shoulders where mother nature got you.
As you enter this harvest season, take good notes on what you’ve learned. Our Millsview customers do a great job. But we all have things we can improve on as new challenges are thrown our way every year. We will continue to discuss those improvements as we finalize your cropping plans for 2023 planting.
Best wishes for a safe and successful harvest season. We appreciate your business very much.
Greg and Steven Mills.