Corn is progressing nicely across most of the state after well-needed rains (Figure 1). Starting in mid-July 2023, the Yield Forecasting Center plans to provide corn phenology (stages) and forecasts of corn yield potential every three weeks. The center is led by a core team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) that collaborates with agronomists and extension educators from universities throughout the Corn Belt.
Forecasts can help researchers, growers, and industry stakeholders make management, logistics, and marketing decisions during the 2023 crop season. Forecasts cover 40 locations across the Corn Belt, including Western (South Charleston), Northwest (Custar), and Northeast (Wooster site) in Ohio (Figure 2).
The Yield Forecasting Center encompasses the following:
- A network of collaborators providing local management data and verifying forecasted yields.
- Information on dominant soil types in each region.
- Real-time and historical weather data.
- A crop simulation model (UNL Hybrid Maize).
The article below summarizes the methodologies used to forecast corn phenology and yield. It provides guidelines for the interpretation of results:
2023 Corn Yield Forecasts: Approach and Interpretation of Results
Sections in this article outline:
- The approach.
- Accounted and non-accounted factors.
- How Do We Forecast Real-time Corn Yield Potential?
- What to Expect During the Growing Season?
- How to Use These Forecasts to Inform Farm Decisions?
As corn yield and phenology forecasts become available this crop season, short briefs will be released via the OSU C.O.R.N. Newsletter; make sure to subscribe.
Reference:
Grassini, P., Andrade, J., Rizzo, G., Yang, H., Rees, J., Coulter, J., Licht, M., Archontoulis, S., Ciampitti, I., Singh, M., & Ortez, O. (2023). Corn Yield Forecasts: Approach and Interpretation of Results. UNL Nebraska CropWatch. Available from: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2023/2023-corn-yield-forecasts-approach-and-interpretation-results