Harvest among latest 
on record

By CHRIS FREEMAN - cfreeman@nwherald.com

There were no floods or droughts during the agriculture growing season this year, but a perfect storm of cool and wet weather all season has pushed harvest back unusually late.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture said this week that 19 percent of the corn crop in the state had been harvested, while 35 percent of the soybean crop had reached harvest. That’s the third-slowest corn harvest since 1940, and the second-slowest soybean harvest on record.

“This is just an atypical year,” said Illinois Corn Growers Association Communications Director Tricia Braid-Terry. “This is not a circumstance [that] many people have a lot of experience with. Most people have something that they can point back to. ... At this point, I don’t hear anyone saying they had the same problem.”

Bruce Meier, president of the McHenry County Farm Bureau and a farmer in Hebron, usually is done harvesting soybeans by now.

“This is only my third day of harvesting,” Meier said from his field Thursday afternoon.

The cause is the combination of a wet spring that delayed planting, a cool summer that didn’t promote full growth, and a wet October that hasn’t allowed farmers to get into the fields to harvest their crops.

“With the rain and moisture, there’s a mold factor we’re worried about,” McHenry County Farm Bureau Manager Dan Volkers said. “And with the strong winds, we could see crop lodge, where the corn crop falls over in the field and makes it very slow to harvest.”

The late wet weather has meant higher moisture content in corn and soybeans being harvested. That is costing farmers when they take their crops to grain elevators that are being stressed to dry more crops – and for longer times – than usual.

“Since so much of the crop is wet, it’s adding additional pressures to the elevators,” Braid-Terry said. “Some elevators have to close to deliveries of corn because they already met their capacity for the day. That further delays the process of the farmer.”

“There’s a little damage in the soybeans because of all the rain we had in October,” Meier said. “They’re shriveled, or we’re getting docked at the [grain] elevator when we sell them. As far as the corn goes, the quality isn’t really the best.”

All the while, the harvest is not moving any quicker. Meier said it usually took him about six weeks to harvest his more than 1,000 acres of crops.

“We’ll just keep pushing back; it’s not like I can do more than I already do in a day,” he said. “With the moisture in the corn, my dryer normally handles 500 bushels an hour. Now it’s 100 bushels an hour. At this rate, I’ll need 72 days of drying time to reach storage [levels].”

The problems will not just affect this year’s crop, though. After the harvest, many farmers till their land to get it prepared for spring planting the next season. That might be out of the question this year because of the late harvest, Meier said.

“With the ground so wet, it’s going to affect next year, and maybe future years,” he said.

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Caution on the roads

With the late harvest keeping farm machinery and equipment on the roads after Daylight Savings Time, the Illinois Farm Bureau and Secretary of State Office offer these tips to avoid accidents:

Driving tips for motorists

• Always look for farm vehicles on rural roads, especially during farming seasons.

• Apply your brakes like you would when approaching a stoplight when you see equipment ahead.

• Recognize the Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) emblem, a reflective red and orange triangle mounted near the center of the back of every piece of equipment designed to travel at slow speeds.

• Pay attention to the farmer’s hand signals and flashing lights. Expect tractors to make wide left turns when they move to the right side of the road near intersections or field entrances. Do not return to the right lane after passing until you are a safe distance in front of the farm equipment.

• Only pass in designated, safe passing areas.

• Enjoy the drive if you cannot pass farm machinery. Following at 20 mph for six minutes is only the equivalent of sitting at two stoplights.

Driving tips for farmers

• Mount an SMV emblem and apply reflective tape on all machinery.

• Signal slow downs, stops and turns with lights and/or hand gestures.

• Watch for vehicles trying to pass when turning left. Motorist might expect farmers to turn right instead of making a wide left turn.

• Move to the shoulder to allow cars to pass.

• Use escort vehicles to warn others of the approaching farm equipment.

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