ABOVE: Vermilion County Farm Bureau’s Tom Fricke welcomes farmers and speakers to annual Market Outlook meeting.
With the USDA’s crop estimates for the month of August now in, that means it’s time to get together at the Vermilion County Farm Bureau for the Market Outlook Meeting. Once Labor Day Weekend is over, the harvest is right on the doorstep. And prior to the start of Tuesday (August 19th) morning’s meeting, the local Farm Bureau’s Tom Fricke talked about things causing major concern right now. There’s the effect of tariffs, possible corn pollination problems due to extreme heat; and speaking of corn, Fricke says last weekend’s high winds caused some windblown corn damage. He cited the Homer, Allerton, and Sidell areas; and others as well.
AUDIO: There was an irrigation pivot up by Henning that got knocked over. So, there obviously was some wind up in that area. If the corn didn’t snap off, nine times out of ten it will pick itself back up. But this late in the season, with the heavy ear on it, it doesn’t always stand as straight as you’d like; which makes harvest more complicated.
One of the meeting’s speakers was marketing specialist Darrin Wax from Premier Cooperative. He’s not looking for any records to be broken in the Midwest for the 2025 harvest. But hopefully the yield will still be strong enough to overcome some price worries, such corn aiming at well below four dollars per bushel.
Vermilion County Farm Bureau members listen as AdMarket.net’s Curt Kimmel shares numbers pertaining to the coming harvest.
AUDIO: It’s kind of tough to stomach some of those numbers we’re seeing right now, especially for corn. You know, you’re talking about maybe $3.50. It’s not real fun to think about. But I think we’ll make it through on a decent yield here. It’s just not quite what we’ve had in the past.
Speaker Curt Kimmel from AgMarket.net stated that what to do with the new crop right after harvest will once again be a major decision. He also says getting out in the fields and looking at the corn pollination situation prior to harvest can tell a lot.
AUDIO: There’s lot that’s not been sold yet. So the big questions on the producer’s mind is; am I going to store, or am I going to sell? Now’s a good time to go in there and pull back husks, to see if you have that pollination issue or not. Yields might not be record, but hopefully it’ll be good.
An interesting thing Kimmel mentioned while speaking at the meeting was that if there’s one state really looking good going into harvest it’s South Dakota. Right now, the USDA is estimating them to be well ahead of both last year, and their three year averages, in both corn and soybeans.
