Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Favorable conditions allow fervent picking season for farmers
A combine cruises through a cornfield Sept. 30 north of Moneta.
Twenty-five percent of the state's corn crop has been harvested so far this fall, well ahead of schedule.
Cloud cover made for a unique moonrise in this cornfield near Everly on Sept. 30.
The plumes of dust rising from local fields haven't settled in recent weeks thanks to dry conditions that have allowed farmers to harvest at breakneck pace.
According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, one-quarter of the corn for grain in the state had been harvested Oct. 4, more than three weeks ahead of last year and 12 days ahead of average. This marked only the second time since 2000 that at least one-quarter of the corn for grain crop was harvested by that date.
Soybeans are going out fast as well. One-quarter of the state's crop was harvested during the week ending Oct. 4, with 55 percent now out. This marked just the second time in the last 15 years that at least half of the soybean crop was harvested by Oct. 4.
Farmers in south central Iowa are considerably behind farmers in the rest of the state with just 18 percent of their crop harvested, according to the department of ag. Soybean condition rated 49 percent good-to-excellent.
Dry growing summer conditions have resulted in varying yields for local farmers. According to CFE agronomist Jameson Hennings, beans in the Hartley area are seeing yields between 45-65 bushels per acre, while corn has ranged from 140-220.
The lack of rain during harvest season hasn't been all good, however. Fire chiefs in Sioux County last week issued an alert to farmers asking them not to harvest. Fire hazards in fields were aided by strong winds, and local departments were stretched thin responding to several calls.
