Harvest early this year

By Dean Shipley

Staff Writer

Soybeans are being harvested throughout Madison County. This farmer was spotted in action along Old Springfield Road in Union Township.

On Monday, with a forecast of rain, farmer Wayne Price and son, Steve, were hustling to combine their soybeans and auger them into the storage bins.

Considering the drought which deprived the area of moisture for much of the summer growing season, Price’s soybean yield seemingly could have been much worse. However, the Union Township farmer described his yield as “good, average,” pegging his bushels-per-acre output at 40.

Due to an inch of rain, which fell Monday evening and Tuesday morning, Mike Boerger of Pike Township has had to suspend his soybean and corn harvest.

No matter.

He said even with the harvest time out, he remains a week to 10 days ahead of schedule.

At this point, Boerger said the soybean yield has been better than he expected, but the corn harvest is about what he expected. All expectations have been determened by the overly hot and dry summer.

Boerger said the range of soybean yield is falling into 35-55 bushels per acre, which he describes as very surprising. The surprise comes as he takes a backward glance at a hot, dry August, during which soybean yields are “made.”

Corn’s shriveled fortunes — at least on the yield side — also fell victim to not only hot and dry days, but also hot and dry nights. He said corn plants are much like people when it comes to a temperature-comfort zone: Both like 55-85 degrees Fahrenheit.

As a result of the overall hot, dry July, corn yields Boerger is beginning to observe fall into the 80-120 bushels/acre range.

Still with that diminished yield, farmers can expect a good payday since prices are up. As reported in the Madison Press on Wednesday, Oct. 3, the price per bushel for corn is $7.61 and for the same measure of soybeans, $14.94. A year ago, corn price was $5.88/bushel and soybean price was $11.20.

Each represents significant increases: Corn by 29 percent, soybeans by 33 percent.

Those increases will begin to somewhat make up for the change in yield in Boerger’s mind.

Daniel Call, who farms in the southern townships, declined to put exact figures on his harvested crops, but did say they ranged “across the board from extremely poor to very good.” He described the average of their yields as “under the 10-year average.”

Call said for as rough of a year it has been in terms of weather, he called this harvest outstanding.

Boerger attributes the current yields to the development of genetics in the seeds farmers plant.

“It’s due to the super genetics in the seeds we have,” Boerger said.