2021 has been a very interesting year for growing crops in the Pacific Northwest. With record breaking high temperatures and months without any measurable rainfall in many areas. The adverse weather coupled with elevated fertilizer prices and difficulty in sourcing popular chemicals made 2021 a very challenging year to raise crops. Despite all of the adversity, our corn crops look pretty good. We had some good rainfall right after planting that got the corn off to a good start and allowed the roots to grow long enough to get into some of the deeper sub-moisture which really helped when we went over 55 days without any measurable rainfall.
The corn choppers have just started to get into the fields and silage trucks are running all over the place, but it is still too early to see where yields are going to be for the year. Based on the first few fields harvested, it looks like yields will be at or slightly above average with pretty good starch content. This is key to our dairy producers as corn silage makes up the biggest portion of most dairy feed rations fed to their cows. Corn silage is important because it serves as a high-energy forage for dairy cows with much of this coming from the starch content provided by the corn kernels. Good quality, high-starch corn silage’s value to our dairy producers increases greatly as corn futures prices climb over $5.50 per bushel which is up over 60% from a year ago.
Not only is our local corn crop production essential for our dairy producers, but it also plays a key role as a rotation crop for many of our grower members. Corn is a great rotation crop for many different cropping systems in our area and works well as a rotation crop following the specialty potatoes grown in the Skagit Valley. Adding corn into a crop rotation helps to minimize soil-borne diseases, insect pressure and also helps to improve overall soil health.
Seeing how important corn is to our local ag economy in Skagit, Whatcom, and Snohomish counties, Skagit Farmers Supply is dedicated to offering our growers custom corn planting, side dressing, soil/plant tissue sampling, and crop consulting services. These services are important in keeping our local farms and dairy producers running as efficiently and profitably as possible.
Jon Jarvis
Agronomist, CCA
Skagit Farmers Supply
