Crops well ahead of 5-year Average

UGUIDE

UGUIDE

Active member
WOW! Every year in SD is different. This year the crops are way way ahead of 5-year average.

Take wheat for instance: 84 % colored this year vs. 4% last year and 22% 5-year average. Wheat harvest has begun in some areas.

Corn is 28" tall this year as compared with 12" last year at this time and 16" is 5-year average.

I just have to believe that the pheasants are that far ahead as well as compared with other years.

Hard to imagine that the crops wouldn't be out way early again this year unless we have record moisture in the fall.
 
It looks like things are going well! Crops out early are a great bonus. Not as much fun driving large cornfields. I like watching the dogs work myself.
 
Hay is very short and pasture grass isn't good. I would expect most every ditch in the state to get baled up this year. Not good for the right of way hunters. The pheasants are doing very well so far though. Chicks are in many stages, from pretty small to flying. It should be a very good fall. If this pace continues the crops will be out for the opener. We are cutting wheat now in Tripp County.
 
I wonder what the dry weather is doing for the chicks. It has to cut down on the number of bugs to eat
 
Wirehairs said:
Hay is very short and pasture grass isn't good. I would expect most every ditch in the state to get baled up this year. Not good for the right of way hunters. The pheasants are doing very well so far though. Chicks are in many stages, from pretty small to flying. It should be a very good fall. If this pace continues the crops will be out for the opener. We are cutting wheat now in Tripp County.
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I agree with your statement.
 
Probably has little to do with SD. We are infested with Grass Hoppers already. We were dry and then 8 inches of rain in 5 days. All that water didn't slow down the hoppers. Grass Hoppers usually favor dry weather.
 
Man, is it hot lately. Seemed like it never got over 80 last summer.

There are some cornfields here in MN that are juicy green and head height. Heck! My wife and I were driving back from a biking trip this morning and saw a field where the corn was tasseling already. There's a lot of moisture in the ground here from heavy rains and the corn is really taking off from the heat.

I saw a post from another forum where the guy showed a picture of the farmers chopping corn in southern Illinois because it was toast due to lack of moisture.

Good news is I don't think the new baby pheasant chicks think it is too dry or too hot. I know the incubators for pheasant production on new chicks are set at 90 degrees. What's hot for us is just right for them.
 
Irrigated corn in this country. Pivots are going 24-7 with all the nutrients possible is 6feet plus tall and showing tassel.
My dry ground corn is now all wilted up and waste high.
We have a heat index of 105 with NWS warnings.
Drink lots of water, stay indoors or in the shade.
I'm doing all of the above, but I'm substituting the water part: for icy cold Bud Light. :cheers: :cool::eek::)

I think I'm OK. :thumbsup::cheers:
 
56% of the country is under drought conditions.........corn yield will be way down, especially in the midwest......$7 corn and higher food prices for virtually everything......this is not good.
 
The crops here are holding up amazingly well. There is no surplus but they are hanging in there. The grass on the other hand is suffering. Anything that can be cut for hay is being cut. Road hunting will be limited in this area. The young birds on the other hand are looking good. It appears to be a good hatch and much earlier than last year.
 
haymaker said:
The crops here are holding up amazingly well. There is no surplus but they are hanging in there. The grass on the other hand is suffering. Anything that can be cut for hay is being cut. Road hunting will be limited in this area. The young birds on the other hand are looking good. It appears to be a good hatch and much earlier than last year.
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are your hayfields under center pivots or is it all dryland?.....just curious
 
hunter94 said:
are your hayfields under center pivots or is it all dryland?.....just curious
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All our land is dryland. The last couple of years it has been real wet. We have roads under water and are in serious need of rain especialy pasture. Chicks can find water and I think the birds will be concentrated because there will be less cover. It should be a good year to hunt here.
 
haymaker said:
The crops here are holding up amazingly well. There is no surplus but they are hanging in there. The grass on the other hand is suffering. Anything that can be cut for hay is being cut. Road hunting will be limited in this area. The young birds on the other hand are looking good. It appears to be a good hatch and much earlier than last year.
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I heard the seed jockeys talk about that their corn doesn't need water like the old days! No pests, no weeds, and now no water! I will say , I saw a cornfield 4 years ago, drought stricken, but after the ears fleshed out, brown or growing brown, all sizes of stalks, little ears, sometimes 3 per plant, I thought it would be 75 bushels, maybe. All those nasty ears, made 175 bushels of corn! Drought plant I guess! now they say 300 bushels will be common in 5 years, and we going expand the tillabe acres to include unthinkable, prairie grass sand dunes to raise corn. Wasn't to long ago we sworn up and down we had to rotated corn, that corn planted on corn would not work, it might be poor practice, but it is sure being done. Unfortunately, if we lose some of our crop, the world will still have corn, at a pricely sum, to shore up our supplies, and sell it to the our current customers around the world. Only, our farmers and us local consumers will have the priviledge of a lightened load from wallet pocket.
 
haymaker said:
All our land is dryland. The last couple of years it has been real wet. We have roads under water and are in serious need of rain especialy pasture. Chicks can find water and I think the birds will be concentrated because there will be less cover. It should be a good year to hunt here.
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PM sent....................
 
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