The Iowa corn harvest is moving along about on schedule, while the bean picking is a little ahead of the curve. The Iowa Department of Agriculture’s crop report released today (Thursday) says the corn harvest is 36 percent complete which is four days ahead of last year, but a day behind the normal pace. The soybean harvest is now 90 percent complete — which is about the same pace as last year but four days ahead of normal. The report says dry conditions have raised concerns about soil moisture, but on the positive side, the dry conditions have helped the natural drying process. The more natural drying that occurs, the less farmers have to spend to artificially dry the grain. That could be a big savings, as the cost of the fuel to dry the grain has increased dramatically this year.
