Anyone have any reasons for this? I'm betting the very cool and wet summer perhaps super-saturated the soil and didn't give corn plants much of a chance.
I've noticed a lot of corn crops have been withered, yellow or low yield this autumn...to the extent that it seems many have been only partially harvested or abandoned.
Yes, it's the weather. Too much humidity at the wrong time.
https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9...lture-in-2021/
And so Switzerland is having lower crop yields, but more cattle. Not the way to go sustainability-wise.
Are you sure you are observing Sweet Corn. Maize, which is used as animal fodder, is left to wilt on the vine. One of the last crop to be harvested.
That's a good question! But that doesn't quite explain the partially harvested fields.
Too much rain destroys crops, and due to the wettest summer in ages, it was one of the worst yields in a long time.
I think they make hay while the sun shines. Meaning that when an expensive harvester is available, they use it, but if something else a little more time critical needs harvesting they don’t need to finish the maize until the end.
Around here they are focusing on the sugar beets right now.
I understand that, but I often see fields the size of 1-3 football fields being 40-50% harvested, usually around the outside.
My theory is they cannot till a entire failed corn/maize crop back into the soil, so they harvest enough away until they can.
I'll check with my boss, his daughter runs a farm. I know their wheat crop was touch-and-go because the soil was so saturated the harvester was at risk of sinking/getting bogged.
Field corn, corn destined for animal feed, is usually harvested when it’s already dried out in the field. Around here I see people harvest part of the field and leave the rest for a later date—this can be due to borrowed/rented equipment, timing with rains or microclimates so to speak in the field that cause part to be not as dry as the farmer would like. I’m sure there could be other reasons too.