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AdvertisementExcessive moisture slows harvest
There is a record corn and soybean crop out there, but right now it's still in the field. Excessive moisture in corn and soybean producing states has farmers way behind schedule on harvest. Major corn and soybean producing states are behind the five-year average and farmers are beginning to be concerned about high moisture levels, mold issues and shatter problems. "The wet weather kept farmers out of the fields again much of last week and as a result just a little progress was made on harvest. This is now the slowest harvest since the 1960s," Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said. "It is unusual for both corn and bean harvest to be delayed so significantly. However, with dryer weather forecast for this week, hopefully, farmers will be able to get into the fields and significant progress will be made." Southwest Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser was pleased that his soybean harvest would be complete on the afternoon of Nov. 3. However, many other farmers across Iowa aren't so lucky, with only 54 percent of soybeans harvested, behind the 96 percent harvested five-year average, according to United States Department of Agriculture reports. Corn harvest in Iowa is also behind with only 18 percent of corn harvested, according to the reports, which is off the normal 67 percent harvested five-year average. Gaesser said he is about half done with the corn harvest and when he couldn't be in the bean field, he was able to harvest corn. "It has rained often, but not a lot at one time. We, in southwest Iowa, are much better off and farther along than other farmers in Iowa and across the midwest and eastern states," he said. Disease concern The cooler summer temperatures and late season precipitation are increasing the chances for ear rot diseases this year in the corn still standing in the fields according to Tamra Jackson, University of Nebraska Extension plant pathologist. "The fields need to be scouted and if there is a problem present, then action needs to be taken," she said. These diseases cause even more problems in stored grain and should be handled differently at harvest to prevent further losses. The pathogens that cause these diseases can continue to grow in the bin and may have dramatic impacts on the quality, including the possibility of mycotoxin accumulation. "We recommend corn is dried to at least 15 percent or lower within 48 hours of harvest to avoid issues in the bin," she added. Gaesser said most of his corn is around 20 percent moisture, with some at 23 percent. In northern Iowa he has heard of a lot of corn in the 28 to 30 percent moisture range, which means it will take a lot more time to harvest and a lot more drying once it is harvested. "We store most of our corn on-farm. The dryer corn we will be able to put in bins and run the fan on it through the winter; the higher moisture corn we will put through our dryer system and dry it to a lower moisture," he said. "We may have to do some moving around." Flooding concerns On Nov. 3, Tom Raffety, a corn and soybean farmer from Wyatt, Mo., said conditions were a lot better than they were two days ago. Farmers in southeast Missouri were watching a rise in the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and thought they might lose their crops to flooding. "We pitched up a big levee to stop it and it looks like we will save it, but it was close," Raffety said. On his farm Raffety said they finished corn harvest a week ago but still had the majority of their soybean crop in the field. On Nov. 3 there were people in the field harvesting and Raffety said as soon as the moisture content dropped they would get back in the field, also. Raffety estimated they were at least a month behind on harvest, but part of that could be attributed to the late planting date. "We did not get into the field until June, and we planted a bunch of soybeans the first week of July. Those soybeans are still green enough that we cannot cut them yet," Raffety said. Gary Clark, the senior director of market development with Missouri Corn Growers Association, said the percent of the harvest picture would change dramatically over the next 10 days for Missouri. As the fields dry down, combines will run longer and longer hours every day. The size of the Missouri corn crop still looks to be very large. "The biggest thing we are fighting right now in corn is the moisture content," Clark said. "Just getting corn to dry down has delayed harvest as much as the wet soil conditions. A lot of corn will come out of the fields--between 18 and 22 percent." Clark said once the moisture content gets down to 23 percent growers will start harvesting. They cannot wait any longer because of grain quality and stalk quality. "We will see combines run extended hours like we have not seen in years," Clark said. Clayton Short, who farms in central Kansas south of Salina, said he finished harvesting soybeans two weeks ago and is about halfway done with milo harvest. Short said this is pretty good for his area where there are still soybeans in the field. "But we did not get done planting wheat," Short said. "This is the first time in 25 years that we did not get all of our wheat planted." Short said it has been frustrating this fall because the rains have not been the traditional type of rains they get this time of year because they linger for days. "We lose a week every time we get a rain because it is drizzly and nasty for so long," Short said. Short combines milo on Nov. 2, but they are fighting moisture content. He said they would not try to cut again until Nov. 4 to give the grain time to dry down. So far milo yields have not been hurt by the late harvest and wet weather. "We have a record harvest this year as far as yield is concerned," Short said. "We have not cut any dryland grain sorghum less than 16 bushels per acre, yet. With all of the rain we have had, the plants are extremely healthy so we are not seeing the lodging we normally see with a late harvest. If we had 80-bushel stressed milo and all of this rainfall, we would have milo down right now." Records to be set The yields in southwest Iowa appear to be right on track for a record crop for both corn and soybeans. Gaesser said most of his beans have averaged about 60 bushels per acre and the corn is about 200 bushels per acre--both, records for him. The November USDA crop production report, which is to be released Nov. 10, will show if the U.S. crop is still on track to be a record crop. The October report showed a record projected corn yield of 164.2 bushels per acre, which would result in the second largest corn crop at 13.018 billion bushels and only 20 million bushels less than the record 2007 crop of 13.038 billion bushels. The projected average soybean yield of the U.S. of 42.4 bushels per acre would result in record soybean production of 3.250 billion bushels. "We look to be right on par with production estimates as long as the harvest continues to progress," he said. "With a couple weeks of good weather, most farmers will be able to complete the harvest in this area." Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 515-833-2120, or by e-mail at jbremer@hpj.com. Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304, or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com. Advertisement
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