The latest U.S.D.A. crop report shows just 36-percent of this year’s corn crop has been pulled from the fields, which is six days behind last year and 16 days behind the 5-year average for harvest times. Monday’s report says the moisture content in the corn is causing farmers to be selective about when they harvest.
Benton County farmer, John Stien, is playing the waiting game with his corn crop. “Well, we got our beans done –that was a God-sent. I suppose we’ve got 20-percent of our corn out. We’re awfully selective in what fields we go in,” Stien says.
He says the timing of the harvest on the Newhall farm often depends on the variety of corn. “Some varieties seem to dry down, but most of them don’t. Drying some. Trying not to, but we get into these later varieties, we’re going to have to start drying a little more. We’re getting a lot of corn. I don’t have any idea what the yield is. We haven’t had a yield check this year, yet,” according to Stien.
They soybean harvest has moved right along as many farmers combined beans first to let their corn dry longer. The soybean harvest is 81-percent complete, with is 2 days behind last year and 4 days behind normal. The U.S.D.A. says some farmers have to wait for soybeans they replanted to mature before harvesting them.