Not Quite Harvest Time Just Yet
Trent Brandenburg’s earliest-planted corn is “about a week away” from drying below 25% moisture. At that level, he could lower his drying expense at the grain elevator. “Now, if there’s an incentive…, ” Trent indicated that an elevator offering a special on drying could get some of his early corn if the incentive was big enough. The Illinois August rainfall was 4.43 inches, 0.87 inches above normal, not good for field dry-down nearing harvest. So Trent has to decide to dry or not, and when to start harvest.
Experienced farm operators like Trent are always balancing variables such as whether (or how much) drying expense to incur in order to maximize crop return. The timing of harvest operations enters into the value judgement. Will there be a weather delay to the harvest? Might there be a dalay in getting parts for a harvest machinery repair? There are many decisions like this between the act of faith in planting seeds in the spring to taking the elevator check to the bank in the fall.
More from The Field Report
Dry Weather Hastens Harvest
September in central Illinois was one-to-three-inches short of average rainfall. Trent Brandenburg took full advantage of the natural drydown and good field conditions to get his crops from the field to the bin. Trent has completed his soybean harvest. He [...]
Not Quite Harvest Time Just Yet
Trent Brandenburg's earliest-planted corn is "about a week away" from drying below 25% moisture. At that level, he could lower his drying expense at the grain elevator. "Now, if there's an incentive..., " Trent indicated that an elevator offering a [...]
Replanting Done, Corn and Beans Look Good
Trent Brandenburg has replanted his few ponded field "wet spots" as many as three times. The replanted areas are "thin," Trent observed, because "It has been too wet. But at least [replanting] will keep the weeds down." Trent is now [...]