Missouri farmers find pleasant surprises in harvest

Thursday, September 28, 2023

While drought hit farmers hard in much of Missouri this year, farmers in northwest Missouri are finding some pleasant surprises this harvest.

One of those farmers is Bryant Kaygy of Amity, Missouri. Kaygy says that while they started off dry like the rest of the state, they were able to get the crop planted ahead of normal and had enough soil moisture to get the crop off to a good start.

Despite the dry conditions that continued through most of the growing season, Kaygy says that they are still in better shape than other parts of the state and are getting above average corn yields on their farm.

"Our corn has been anywhere from 210 to 240 bushels per acre, which like I said, is probably 20% or 30% above normal and, you know on track to be one of our best years ever," Kaygy said.

Kaygy says that they were also fortunate to have very little tip back from the heat and that stalk integrity is solid. However, he does note that heat stress pushed the crop during filling and so the corn is a bit lighter.

"The test weight of the corn we've sold so far has been kind of on average what you'd expect for corn that's been dried down to 15% moisture," Kaygy said. "It's been 56 to 60 pounds per bushel, not as high as we'd had hoped."

Kaygy also says that this was the first year they have seen tar spot, which crept in late season. He says that he doesn't think it set in early enough to do a lot of yield damage, but it is certainly something they will have to look at going forward for management.

While corn harvest is nearly two thirds done on Kaygy's farm, it may be a few weeks before they start on soybeans. And expectations are tempered by the dry August weather.

Kaygy expressed hope for mid-50s to 60 bushels per acre, but he was hesitant to make a prediction.

Kaygy also says that disease pressure was significant on soybeans this year.

Bryant Kaygy, a farmer in northwest Missouri, said that sudden death syndrome pressure was significant on soybeans this year, especially in areas where the crop was planted early and there was a lot of moisture in early August.

But considering all the adversity during the 2023 growing season, Kaygy says that he is still very thankful for the outcome of this harvest season.