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2023 harvest a big discussion point for NASDA members

As harvest picks up, there’s some optimism and uncertainty for farmers across the Corn Belt.

Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Don Lamb tells Brownfield Hoosier farmers have high expectations after some timely August rains. “I would really expect that we would have been harvesting something by now, but we’re not yet,” Lamb said. “It will probably be more like September 20th or so before we get rolling.”

Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge says conditions have been favorable for growers. “I think we’re going to see some pretty darn good yields,” Baldridge said. “Combines are coming out. We’re probably a week and a half to three weeks and everybody will be rolling by then.”

Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says widespread drought forced an earlier-than-expected start to harvest in some parts of the state. “Unfortunately, we’ve now crossed 167 consecutive weeks of at least D1 drought in the state of Iowa,” Naig said.

Wisconsin Ag Secretary Randy Romanski says he expects variable yields. “We’ve got some parts of Wisconsin that are unusually dry, and we’ve got some parts of the state that look pretty good,” Romanski said.

The directors and secretaries spoke to Brownfield at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture annual meeting in Cheyenne, Wyoming this week.