Soybean Harvest Begins In Two Days, Maybe…
Trent Brandenburg expects to begin his soybean harvest in two days “if it doesn’t rain,” he predicted on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. His corn harvest will begin when the kernel moisture content drops, either from drying in the field or from Trent deciding to pay the elevator for some drying. Trent’s corn is now measuring 22 per cent moisture; Trent is waiting to start corn picking until he determines “if the elevator will take it.”
The Illinois Farm Bureau crop watcher for Champaign County, adjacent to Trent’s county, expects 10-14 days until bean harvest begins there, so Trent is ahead of the east-central Illinois curve. Recent rains and cool weather have slowed the maturity and drydown of both corn and soybeans in east-central Illinois. The rain was welcome to alleviate the drought, but now the moisture slows harvest.
More from The Field Report
Dry Weather Speeds Harvest
Trent Brandenburg is trying to get his field work done "before it rains". Much of the area Trent farms is in "extreme drought" according to the Illinois Drought Monitor https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?IL map, which is updated every Thursday. The very dry soil [...]
In a Drought, but Corn is Too Wet to Harvest
The current Illinois drought map (11 September) shows severe drought in the northern 40% of Piatt County and moderate drought in the rest of Piatt and adjacent areas of neighboring counties. Trent Brandenburg has barely started harvesting because his corn [...]
Summertime Mowing And Spraying
Trent Brandenburg has been busy mowing his lawn and his roadsides due to the sunshine and frequent rains making his grass grow as well as his corn and soybeans. He has been hiring aerial spraying of fungicides to suppress disease [...]