Published: November 06, 2009 11:50 pm      

Farmers finally bring in crops

DANVILLE — The last time retired Westville farmer Paul Janosik remembers harvest being as late as the 2009 season was the late ’70s.

For many years in this area, harvest season weather was dry enough that most farmers didn’t have to factor drying costs into their cost of doing business.

But this year, they did.

In fact, the wet weather’s delaying harvest by several weeks is exacerbated by lengthy lines at the elevators because of the drying process.

“It’s going to impact their bottom line,” Janosik observed. “Farmers haven’t had to buy propane or use a lot of electricity drying corn. Now they’re going to spend a lot of money. Propane’s not heap and electricity isn’t either.”

Some figures, he’s heard, are as high as $100 per acre.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be that high, but it’s going to hurt,” he added.

Oakwood and Catlin area farmer David Reed says he’s felt the cost so far. He said the last few days this week have been good harvesting weather, but the drying costs at the elevator are adding as much as 30 cents to each bushel.

Reed says the moisture percentage of his grain is usually about 20 percent before it’s taken to the elevator for storage. This year it’s been as high as 30 percent.

This past week’s weather has helped much of it get close to 21 percent.

Reed said he remembers 1972 as being a year that was wet and late.

“I don’t remember not being done by Halloween as far as harvest goes,” he added. “I’ve been farming for 30 years.”

Besides drying costs and lengthy hours, Reed is also concerned about soil compaction issues from being in muddy fields with heavy machinery.

“That’s not a short-term thing but we have to take this crop out before we worry about the next one,” he said.

Yields for next year could be affected if the soil is too compacted. The soil could be difficult for new plants roots to grow into.

He’s about done with soybeans, and will begin some fall tillage if the weather stays dry for two or three weeks. He’s shooting to be completely finished with harvest by Thanksgiving.

Reed and Janosik said yields are coming in well despite all the challenges of the year — a late planting season, wet summer and a wet fall.

“So far, the weather has been cold enough that I don’t think they’ve had much trouble with soybeans. If it was hot weather and warm, you’d see some damage to soybeans.”

Janosik said it’s common to see farmers working in their fields until late at night, but this year, he’s seen combines running until 2 or 3 a.m., and then starting again at 7 a.m.

“This whole year has been a nightmare for farmers,” he said. “It was too wet so there was late planting season. Now there’s a late harvest and excess money being spent on drying. They won’t recoup that if the price doesn’t go up.

“Farmers don’t set the price of food … if prices don’t go up, it’s not going to mean a thing to the person eating at the table, but it’s going to be very costly for the farmer as far as expenses go.”