Harvest ‘Good, Despite Little Rain’

“Honestly, it’s not great, but it’s not the worst harvest we’ve seen either.” -Brady Wieker, Full Circle Ag

If you’ve driven through the country in recent weeks, you’ve no doubt ended up behind a combine or have seen clouds of dust being kicked up in fields by farm machinery. It is that time of the year where farmers reap what they’ve sown. And by most accounts yields have been good or average, despite the concerning lack of rainfall.

According to the most recent South Dakota Crop Progress and Condition report. 93% of soybeans statewide have been harvested, ahead of the 5-year average of 74% for this time of year. And 64% of corn has been harvested, well ahead of the 40% fiveyear average. This is all in the midst of a statewide drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Marshall County is now listed as being in a “sewww. vere drought.”

Locally, harvest is on the verge of wrapping up as well. Joe Gustafson at Full Circle Ag in Britton said soybeans are basically finished with most people done with corn as well. Brady Wieker, Manager at Hecla’s Full Circle division, noted that around that area, most corn is out but further west in their territory there might be about a week of work left.

Chad Voss at Agtegra out of Langford added that it seems strange to be so ahead of the five-year average when it comes to harvest progression, especially with such a late planting season. However, he says that one has to keep in mind that all the wet years changed perceptions about harvest timelines and pushed them out. Wieker and Gustafson also emphasized that so many acres were in prevent plant and could not be planted at all that the early finish makes sense.

As far as yields go, they tend to vary widely over even small areas, so ag authorities don’t always like to get specific. “Yields are as spotty as the rain was,” explained Wieker. In general, the numbers looked good or at least acceptable given the conditions. The sentiment is largely that it could have been worse. Full Circle’s Justin Ostby, Grain Division Manager out of Forman, said he saw corn average about 160 bushels per acre and soybeans in the low 40s.

The elevator officials said farmers were prepared for the numbers they saw. Ostby said that farmers were finding yields to be about where expected with the dry conditions. Wieker agreed, noting, “Nobody was really let down because this is what they were expecting. Honestly, it was not great, but not the worst harvest either.”

Gustafson said the acceptable to good yields in the midst of a drought can be chalked up to a few factors. “The early season moisture helped. We had a good amount of moisture in the subsoil that seemed to hang on,” he noted. Gustafson said that crop science and farming practices also come into play. “Farmers today just know how to take care of their ground even in a drought,” he stressed.

If there is an upside to harvesting in a drought, the local ag experts say that farmers really haven’t had to pay drying costs for wet corn. “Not having to pay for propane to dry corn amounts to a big savings for farmers,” said Voss. This is fortunate since inputs for farmers are higher than ever.

As they look towards the future, there is a ‘hope of the best, prepare for the worst mentality.’ Everyone agrees that some good rains before the ground freezes would go a long way. “Everyone is a little nervous, especially with predictions for a dryer winter ahead, but if we get some good spring showers, that could alleviate some of the damage,” said Wieker.

At the end of the day northeastern South Dakota farmers will likely weather whatever storms come. “Farmers are forever optimists,” said Voss. “You have to be in this line of work.”