Record High Corn, Soybean Yields Expected

But Harvest Progressing Slowly

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

Pennsylvania farmers are expected to harvest a record amount of corn and soybeans, if all goes as planned.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), which released its season crop estimate on Oct. 1, estimates that farmers will average 144 bushels per acre on 800,000 acres — totaling 126.7 million bushels for the state. That would be the largest yield on record.

The soybean harvest is also estimated to break records. Around 20 million bushels will be harvested from 445,000 acres. Farmers on average are expected to get about 46 bushels per acre.

“It’s looking pretty good,” said Kevin Pautler, director of the Pennsylvania NASS Field Office. Pautler took over as director in June for Marc Tosiano.

The report is based on estimates received from farmers across the state. Actual yields will be reported in December as part of the crop stock survey.

The number of corn acres to be harvested in Pennsylvania this year is unchanged from last year and is about 100,000 acres less than in 2007. The biggest overall corn harvest took place in 2004, but that was attained with 100,000 more acres.

Pautler attributes the good year to timely weather and better genetics.
But much of the corn and soybean crop still has to be brought in from the field.

Only 39 percent of corn had been harvested as of the most recent report. That’s well behind last year’s pace of 68 percent and the five year average of 67 percent, according to the crop progress report released this past Monday.

Soybeans are also behind with only 37 percent of the crop being harvested, well behind last year’s 64 percent and the five year average of 57 percent.
Wet weather and slowly maturing corn and soybeans have been largely to blame.

But Pautler said farmers in many states are dealing with the same issues.

“It seems like most producers are behind,” he said. “Other states are like this too.”

Even though the harvest is behind schedule, Pautler said he doesn’t expect it to impact yields much since about 93 percent of the corn has matured.

However, a hard frost could affect the corn that still has to finish maturing.

Around the Region
Some neighboring states are also reporting better than average corn and soybean yields.

Officials in Maryland are expecting farmers there to harvest 58 million bushels of corn, the most since 2006. About 400,000 aces will be harvested with farmers averaging 145 bushels per acre, according to predictions.

More than 19 million bushels of soybeans are expected to be harvested from 475,000 acres in Maryland, the highest total since 2003. Farmers are predicted to average 40 bushels per acre.

Unlike Pennsylvania, the harvest is moving at a quicker pace in Maryland. Around 76 percent of the corn and 46 percent of the soybeans have been harvested.

“The conditions are right. Even though the crop got in a little bit late, it got in when it needed to,” said Barbara Rater, director of the NASS Maryland Field Office.

Delaware farmers are expected to harvest 23.2 million bushels of corn, the most since 2006 and 6.58 million bushels of soybeans, the most since 2004.

Virginia farmers are expected to harvest 45.4 million bushels of corn from 355,000 acres, the most since 2004.

About 21.4 million bushels of soybeans are expected to be harvested in Virginia.

New Jersey farmers are expected to harvest 9.31 million bushels of corn from 69,000 acres, the second largest crop in the last 30 years.

The Garden State’s soybean harvest, 6.58 million bushels, will be largest since 2004.

New York farmers, on the other hand, are bucking the trend for higher than expected corn harvests. Farmers there are expected to harvest 79.2 million bushels of corn from 600,000 acres. That’s a 14 percent decline over last year’s total.

The soybean crop, though, is on course to be a record setter in New York. More than 10 million bushels are expected to be harvested from 252,000 acres.