Most Seward County farmers are now finished or wrapping up their corn and soybean harvests in a year that has posed several obstacles.
Seward County Extension Educator Jennifer Brhel said the impact of storms, overcast days and warm nights and other factors have made this year’s harvest challenging for farmers.
Inputs prices were already high. Commodity prices are low.
While soybean yields are good, corn yields are down, which doesn’t allow volume to offset some of the other variables in the farm economy.
“It’s a pretty bleak situation right now,” Brhel said.
As always, many of those variables are out of farmers’ control.
But weather, disease and international markets add stress and anxiety for crop producers at harvest, and Brhel said she is reminding people how important it is to talk about the situation, focus on longer-term views, and not isolate themselves.
“There were a lot of factors that came together,” she said. Some are calling it a “throw-away year.”
That means farmers should not make big decisions based solely on this year’s results.
“Look at a combination of years and your particular fields when trying to make management decisions,” she said.
Brhel said the wind storms in mid- to late July and the weekend of Aug. 8-10 caused a lot of crop damage in this area. Farmers with crop insurance may find help in those payments.
Some corn fields were affected by southern rust disease.
But other factors, like a series of overcast days due to weather and smoke, and high overnight temperatures toward the end of growing season can take a toll on crops – especially corn, Brhel said. Corn needs light during the day and cool nights to allow photosynthesis to do its thing and to target its energy toward putting sugar into its kernels rather than working to keep the whole plant warm.
Jeff Bechard, senior vice president of grain for Central Valley Ag, said he expects to see some recovery in the markets and prices for corn and soybeans after harvest time.
“I would describe the markets this year as more unpredictable due to the ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and our export customers,” Bechard said.
The trade war, combined with variability in harvest results, impacts markets, he said.
But he said the harvest across the region he works with in central to eastern Nebraska, north central Kansas and northwest Iowa has been fairly consistent.
“It is going well. I would say it started a little later than normal, but it has been very active the last few weeks with some slight rain delays,” Bechard said.
Weather, disease impact corn yields
Both Brhel and Bechard said the weather has had good and bad impacts on crops, which, when combined with disease pressures, created a lot of variables.
Bechard said most areas had adequate moisture during the growing season, with the exception of irrigated corn.
“Dryland corn has done well, exceeding expectations in most cases,” he said.
Still, he said, yields have been “somewhat disappointing.”
In the Seward County area, corn yields have been down overall this year, being 20 to 40 bushels below averages, Brhel said.
“There are some exceptions, but overall I have been hearing growers are pretty disappointed in their corn yields,” she said.
Bechard said Central Valley is “railing corn” to its normal markets this year, and they saw more corn acres planted in their territory, leading to more bushels in the end.
Soybean yields high on irrigated fields
Seward County soybean yields here have been pretty good, Brhel said, with farmers harvesting 70 to 80 bushels per acre, with a few reporting 90 bushels per acre on irrigated land with early-maturing, early-planted crops.
Non-irrigated fields were yielding per acre bushel counts in the mid-60s to high 70s in the Seward County area.
Bechard said the soybean harvest has exceeded expectations across the Central Valley territory.
However, he said the lack of soybean exports to China has impacted markets.
He noted that there is a new processor in David City and a processor that began in Norfolk last year that are creating another market for some of the area’s soybeans.
