Published: September 09, 2008 09:05 am      

Area farmers prepare for harvest

DANVILLE — Harvest time for Vermilion County farmers could be just two or three weeks away.

But exactly when combines begin rolling into corn and soybean fields depends on how dry fields remain.

Area growers have experienced varying extremes in the 2008 growing season, which began with unprecedented spring flooding that completely drowned some fields.

Farmers recovered portions of the ruined crop and lost portions of it again due to pests like corn rootworm or additional rainfall.

But yield expectations rose throughout the early summer.

Now, a drier-than-normal period during the last month likely will lead to lower-than-average yields this fall.

Midwest Seed Genetics agronomist Mike Toohill guesses harvest will begin in early October.

“It’s way behind last year, way behind what it could be,” Toohill said.

Some of the yield loss is due to the excessive rainfall, even where there was no flooding. When corn plants have too much water, the root structures don’t develop as well as they do in drier weather, leaving them susceptible to drought and fewer kernels per ear later.

Areas around Vermilion and Champaign county have lost as much as 10 percent of the yields, he said.

Toohill said this year’s crop is among the most variable he’s seen. Some area fields are below 100 bushels per acre, while other fields are around 220 bushels per acre.

For Vermilion County, a yield of 180 bushels could be considered a good crop this year and for soybeans, 50 bushels an acre would be good.

Toohill estimates average Vermilion County corn yields will be about 160 bushels an acre, while beans will be around 45. The late-planted soybeans in the area will make for a good crop, but not a great one, he said.

The rain from late last week could add 10 to 15 bushels onto yields, he added.

“I’d take all the rain I could get until the 20th of September … the plants are still growing. The beans don’t respond to water until they turn yellow; after that point, the growing season is over,” he said.

Sidell-area farmer Steve Fourez is eagerly anticipating harvest.

“Things are progressing slowly, but from what I see walking the fields, we’re three weeks from the combines starting to roll for corn or beans — either one,” he said.

Fourez, along with other area farmers, had to get used to not knowing what was coming next this year.

“I decided early this year, it’s going to be what it’s going to be,” he said. “From what I’ve seen from pulling some ears, (yield) is just going to be under average.”

Excessive moisture hurt root development, he said. Ears are a little smaller as a result of the wet early summer and the recent dry weather.

Besides readying equipment and cleaning out bins, farmers also are looking to control some input costs on next year’s fertilizer purchases, said Farm Bureau spokesman Tom Fricke.

Much of whether fertilizer gets applied this fall depends on how quickly harvest is completed, he said.

“That will have an impact on next spring as well,” he said.