Wet weather forcing farmers into timeout in the field

CHAMPAIGN – Too many rainy days are frustrating farmers and delaying the harvest this year.

But once crops are out of the field, it's possible this year's crop will be one of the biggest on record in East Central Illinois.

"We've had numerous harvest delays with the wet weather we've received over the past four weeks," said Roger Miller, general manager of Premier Cooperative, which has 23 elevators in Champaign, Vermilion, Piatt and Ford counties.

"There have been (years) where we're almost completed by now, and this year we don't even have a good start on harvest," he said.

Todd Hesterberg, who farms in the Gifford area, said he's been able to harvest only a total of three days so far, if all partial days are added together. He's harvested about a quarter of his soybeans, but none of his corn.

"I'd just like to get a crop out," Hesterberg said.

Only about 6 percent of the corn and 10 percent of the soybeans in Illinois had been harvested as of last Monday, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

In nine of the 10 preceding years, anywhere from 45 percent to 79 percent of the corn crop had been harvested by that time.

"First of all, the soil being wet makes it difficult to get out and harvest the grain," Miller said. Second, cool temperatures mean it takes longer for grain to dry in the fields.

That's a particular concern for soybeans, said Delmer Castor, manager of Rising Farmers Grain Co. west of Champaign.

"You can always harvest corn, but these beans are really a challenge to get dried. ... You've got to have sunshine," he said.

Miller said in areas served by Premier, about 8 percent of the corn and 20 percent of the soybeans have been harvested.

"Soybean quality is really good," he said. But some early harvested corn shows signs of diplodia, a fungus that damages the kernel while still on the ear.

Yields for both corn and soybeans appear as good as last year's, despite early- and late-season rains.

Elevator managers say it's not uncommon to see yields of 60 bushels an acre for soybeans and 200 bushels an acre for corn.

"It ranges from the low 50s to the mid-60s on soybeans, and a lot of that is related to the amount of water damage from early planting season," Miller said.

"For corn, we're hearing from the 170- to 225-bushel range, depending on how much water damage they've had," he said, noting that southern areas of Premier's territory were affected more than northern areas.

At Rising Farmers Grain, Castor said he's heard many reports of 60-bushel soybeans and 200-bushel corn.

"Corn is about the same as last year yield-wise, and beans are a little better than last year," he said.

The quality of the Illinois crop appears good, too. Sixty-five percent of the corn and 64 percent of the soybeans in Illinois were rated either good or excellent, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Only 7 percent of corn and 8 percent of soybeans were rated poor or very poor.

"If we can get the grain out of the fields, it could be one of the biggest harvests in this area," Miller said. "It could be equal to last year, and last year was a good crop's worth."

And as frustrating as rain was early and late in the growing year, there was just the right mix of it midseason.

"If we hadn't had timely rains throughout the summer, we wouldn't have the size of the crop we have right now," he said.

Early last week, farmers were cheered by price trends, with corn prices moving up 60 cents a bushel and soybeans nearly a dollar a bushel on news of the weather.

Elevator operators are already warning area farmers to expect delays at elevators because so much of the grain needs to be dried down, and operators have only so much drying capacity.

"The problem that the grain industry will have is drying this crop," Miller said. "It's a lot wetter than any harvest we've experienced. It's going to take a long time to get it dried and put away. There will be delays on harvest just because we can't dry it fast enough.

"It's going to take some patience," he added. "We'll do the best job we can, and hopefully, the sun comes out, the rain stops and we'll dry this crop a little more."

At Rising Farmers Grain, Castor said he expects bottlenecks, particularly if farmers get five days of beautiful weather in a row. He fears thousands of bushels of corn will pile up for drying before elevators can get to it.

At Topflight Grain Cooperative in Bement, Assistant Manager Pam Jarboe said, "We'll probably get it done, but the longer we wait, the more moisture we have." Moisture deteriorates crop quality and causes delays, she added.

Castor said it's conceivable harvest could extend well into November if the wet weather continues. The more time goes by, the greater the risk of frost.

"Frost can deteriorate the quality of the beans, and snow makes it very difficult to combine, as does the rain," Jarboe said.

But those are some of the risks of the farming occupation.

"The nature of farming is, you've just got to deal with the weather," Jarboe said. "Farmers are used to being very busy this time of the year, and they just can't be. Farmers are usually the eternal optimist – they'll get it done, just not the way they're used to doing it."

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