November 1, 2009
By Leslie Reed
Omaha World Herald
LINCOLN — One of the slowest corn and soybean harvests on record has Nebraska and Iowa farmers biting their nails, waiting for wet and wintry weather to abate so they can bring in what experts have predicted will be a record crop.
Photo: David Deerson harvests corn Saturday near Mead, Neb., around water standing in his fields from recent rains. Deerson said that because of high moisture levels, he is preparing to run grain-drying equipment that he hasn't used in at least 10 years.
In Nebraska, only 15% of this year's corn crop has been harvested, the slowest harvest on record since 1982.
In Iowa, only 12% has been harvested, which may be the slowest harvest since 1957 — though a state agricultural official says so much has changed in corn farming in the past 50 years that he's uncomfortable comparing eras.
Farmers say they're uncomfortable with the amount of grain that's sitting in the fields and not in their bins. In early October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted record corn yields for both states.
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But farmers have had few days in the past month where the rain quit long enough to let crops dry sufficiently for combines to operate in the fields.
“Part of the frustration is that we've got the nation's largest projected corn crop — and it's still in the field,” said Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board in Lincoln.
“I don't have much hair left on my head — it's been a hair-pulling experience,” said Jon Holzfaster of Paxton in western Nebraska.
Thursday, Holzfaster watched 15 inches of snow fall on his corn, the third-heaviest snow to hit his farm in October.
Asked how much corn he had left to harvest, Holzfaster wryly replied: “In round numbers, 100%.”
But there is good news for farmers. Warmer and drier conditions are forecast across Nebraska and western Iowa in the coming week, with highs generally in the mid- to upper 50s, according to AccuWeather, The World-Herald's weather consultant.
Soybeans, which generally mature earlier than corn, are further along. In Nebraska, 63% of the crop has been harvested, and 47% in Iowa. Both states are seeing the slowest soybean harvest since 1985. The USDA has predicted a record soybean harvest in the United States this year.
Several farmers said they completed their soybean harvest during dry spells in late September and early October but had not been able to get at their corn.
Holzfaster estimated that he needs only about two hours to harvest his remaining soybeans.
“Our soybean harvest usually takes five to seven days,” he said. “Monday will mark the fifth week we've tried to (finish) that five- to seven-day harvest. It's been very drawn out.”
Greg Thessen, director of the Iowa field office of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, said it's too soon to say whether the late harvest will decrease yields. So far, crops don't seem much damaged by the October rains.
The USDA will release an updated projection Nov. 10, he said.
“If it dried off tomorrow and they can get out (this) week, my guess would be there isn't much loss,” Thessen said. “If the weather breaks and we have a good week of sunshine, they're going to be running pretty hard, though we're not going to catch up to normal.”
Farmers said their corn still appears in good condition and they still expect to realize a bumper crop this year.
“There hasn't been, at least in my neighborhood, significant crop damage,” Holzfaster said. “That record crop is still out there. It's been diminished to a small degree, but for the most part there's still a tremendous crop waiting in the field, and everybody's anxious to get to it.”
Farmers are concerned about harvesting the grain before it dries out enough. Although the uncertainty over harvest has boosted corn prices in recent days, grain that's too wet will be docked in price or even refused.
David Deerson of Mead, Neb., who harvested one of his best soybean crops ever, is dusting off grain-drying equipment that he hasn't used in at least 10 years. The expense of running dryers is just one more reduction to his bottom line.
Farmer Bob Kremer of Aurora, Neb., said his local elevator charges 5.75 cents per percentage point to dry a bushel of grain. That adds up to 40 cents less for a bushel of grain that has to be dried from 22% moisture to 15%.
The price for December corn was $3.66 per bushel at Friday's close on the Chicago Board of Trade.
In generations past, farmers usually aimed to get their crops in by Thanksgiving. But today's farmers have gotten used to being finished in early November, thanks to contemporary preferences for quicker maturing corn hybrids as well as bigger farm implements that clear fields with fewer passes.
“It's not that late yet, it's later than we're used to,” said corn farmer Alan Tiemann of Seward, Neb., who said he's waiting for warmer, drier weather in hopes of minimizing drying costs.
“It used to be everybody hoped to be done by Thanksgiving or thereabouts. We haven't had to deal with that situation for a long time.''
http://www.omaha.com/article/20091101/NEWS01/711019784