Barring the unforeseen, Indiana is on pace for the record corn and soybean yields projected earlier this month by NASS, according to the head of the agency’s Indiana field office.

"We’re moving right along," said Greg Matli, state statistician. "It would take a major weather event and, looking at the weather forecast, I don’t think there’s anything in sight that might cause a problem."

NASS has estimated corn yields for the state at 184 bushels per acre and, for soybeans, 52 bushels. The agency’s forecast was based on conditions as of Sept. 1.

During a recent drive across Indiana, Matli said he noticed crops in general were further along on the state’s western side than they were in the east. Farmers in the west probably were able to plant earlier this spring, he noted.

Some growers are worried about recent wet weather and their ability to get to the crops when harvest time begins in earnest, he said. "There’s plenty of moisture out there and farmers have concerns about compaction," he stated. "From here on out, they’re thinking about getting it out of the fields and will it be dry enough to get into the fields."

For corn, 29 percent of the crop had matured, up from 20 percent last year and down from the five-year average of 38 percent, according to the Sept. 15 Indiana Crop Weather report from the NASS Great Lakes regional office. Seventy-nine percent had dented, down from last year’s 80 percent and the five-year average of 82 percent. Harvest was 1 percent complete, down from last year’s 2 percent and the five-year average of 7 percent.

For soybeans, 33 percent were dropping leaves, down from last year’s 36 percent and the five-year average of 41 percent.