2020 Challenges
Every farm season is different. This one had many significant developments in weather, prices and, of course, the Covid-19 impact.
In a nutshell, weather for 2020 was very cooperative for planting and harvesting. There was a lot of sun and moisture in June and July but very little rain in August. That scarcity of rain in that month developed quickly into what is referred to as a “flash drought”. It did impact both crops as it took the top 10% off of what was going to be a fantastic yield. Some thin areas suffered already in July but still held on. Good, deep soil held together well. Planting the crop was quick but emergence was slow. There were three nights in the low 20’s which hurt some stands.
The water table has been rising since 2017 causing corn to die from wet roots. This contributed to thin stands that couldn’t hold back weeds in spite of three herbicide applications.
China trade wars dealt commodity prices a severe blow. Covid-19 and less cars on the road drove down ethanol use, further hurting corn prices.
Both soybean and corn prices have now recovered nicely so that farming should be able to operate in the black again in 2021.