Minnesota corn, soybean yields may suffer after crops saw frost two to three weeks earlier this year; late-planted soybeans could see 25% loss, specialist says

Andrew Rogers

LOS ANGELES , September 16, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – A freeze hit Minnesota crops two to three weeks earlier than usual and soybean and corn yields could suffer if frost ends the growing season, The Pioneer Press reported Sept. 15.

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture projected that Minnesota growers would reap 1.26 billion bushels of corn and 292 million bushels of soybeans this year prior to the adverse weather. Those estimates would total US$11 billion in crops based on Sept. 13 prices.

Some crops in Minnesota have hit maturity and won’t generally be affected, but most of the state’s 7.1 million acres of soybeans and 7.6 million acres of corn have not matured, The Pioneer Press reported.

Only 9% of the state’s soybean crops were at the final developmental stage as of Sept. 11, while only 10% of the corn crop has reached maturity, according to the USDA.

Late-planted soybeans that are still green are going to see at least a 25% loss, but that is the worst, according to University of Minnesota soybean specialist Seth Naeve.

The yield loss could be as much as 8% to 12% in the worst-case scenario for the plants that were sowed later, according to University of Minnesota extension crop educator Liz Stahl, The Pioneer Press reported.

The primary source of this article is The Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sept. 15.

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