Midwest Crop Tour: Corn yield in Iowa seen lower on year, higher in Illinois

New Delhi — On the third day of the Pro Farmer Midwest crop tour, average corn yields in three districts of western Iowa were projected to be lower on the year for the marketing year 2020-2021 (Sept.-Aug.), while those in Illinois were estimated higher, S&P Global Platts Analytics said in a Aug. 20 report.

Average corn yields in three districts of Iowa are seen at 184.74 bushels/acre, lower than 186.28 bu/acre a year earlier, while corn yields in seven districts of Illinois are seen at 194.13 bu/acre, higher than the year earlier's 172.93 bu/acre.

The lower corn yields in these western Iowa districts were attributed to damage caused by dry weather, and the derecho that hit the region recently, Platts Analytics said.

"It is our opinion that the drought has been underestimated while the derecho impact may have been overestimated (in western Iowa)," it said in the report.

"In the end, the drought is the bigger and more widespread story than the derecho. That is not to downplay the derecho's impact, but more a comment on the severity of the drought in western Iowa," it said.

Some parts of Iowa, the largest corn producing US state, were hit by a derecho on Aug.10. The storm is likely to have impacted corn yields by flattening standing corn crops, which are very difficult to harvest, according to experts.

Earlier, the region had witnessed a stretch of unusually dry and hot weather.

Platts Analytics said that forecasts are for warmer than usual temperatures for the upcoming 30 days as well, which could accelerate the end of the growing season.

"We actually saw a few fields along our route that had already been chopped for silage, a rare sight indeed," it said. "This acceleration process will most certainly take additional bushels off current yields."

Platts Analytics said that the effects of the derecho were noticeable, but that other participants of the tour were likely to see more severe damage in more districts of Iowa on Aug. 20.

The tour will visit eastern Iowa and Minnesota on Aug. 20.

The POET ethanol plant in Coon Rapids, Iowa, was idle, Platts Analytics said. "The 54 million gallon per year plant, which typically sees 70 trucks a day of corn delivered daily, was a relative ghost town when we drove by," it said in the report.

Several ethanol plants in the US saw a temporary or permanent closure after the unprecedented demand-destruction due to COVID-19 restrictions. The ethanol industry also suffered due to collapsing prices of crude oil.

In the US, nearly 40% of the corn produced goes into ethanol production, which makes ethanol a big driver for the US corn prices.