Agronomist calls 2020 a “difficult” year in southern Corn Belt and Delta

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Agronomist calls 2020 a “difficult” year in southern Corn Belt and Delta

An agronomist who works in the southern Corn Belt and Mississippi Delta uses the word “difficult” to describe the 2020 growing season.

Mike Smith with Stine Seed says it was excessively wet in the spring.

“And the rain just continued, so our planting got delayed. And as planting got delayed, guys got more and more anxious. And as they got more and more anxious, they began to push the envelope.”

He tells Brownfield one of the consequences was significant sidewall compaction.

“Where corn plants in particular just didn’t have the opportunity to root down like they normally would. Then when we got later into the season, much of the area I work with saw dry conditions. So a reversal of that early moisture.”

Smith, who is based in southwest Missouri, says that’s when the lack of root mass really showed up, and overall yields suffered as a result.

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