Just a note to tell you folks we got our 1st killing frost on Fri 18 2020 in lower SW Ont. in the Great lakes basin
This is about 3 weeks early and the corn had not reached black layer
Black layer was very close, [about a week away] and some spots escaped killing frost
While not a disaster, this will shave a few bu.
This same thing happened a few yrs ago and the yield loss was more than we thought. Dragged our average down to perhaps 150/acre
I hope we have better than 150 but maybe not, depends on how much damage this frost did
The soy beans got hit and they were grass green
You just never know until the grain is in the bin, sold and the cheque is in the bank
Around here 150 does not pay the bills unless you own your land
Risk is not for faint of heart
Thanks Wayne!
I hope the losses are minimal.
You are correct about how early this 1st frost was, even up there:
https://www.weather.gov/iwx/fallfrostinfo
Fig. 1. Climatological Date of Median First 32°Ffreezefor the United States.
It looks like, going back to 1980, this was the earliest frost ever for you.
Here are the earliest freeze dates since 1980............so this data did not include an earlier one in 1974.
A very rare freeze has happened before along the Canadian border as early as late August. This would be mainly Hard Red Spring wheat country. The HRS crop was actually planted on time this year.
If this map included 1974 in some places in the Upper Midwest, it would have the dark/navy blue shade for early Sept. instead of the medium blue, which is Sept 11-20.
Very rare first freezes have happened in the Eastern cornbelt in the coldest places in mid Sept with most spots having late Sept. The 1995 Sept HARD freezes that went down to the Ohio River were actually Sept. 23/24.
These are rare events, maybe once every 30 years to get that cold so early.
