(Spencer)– The abnormally cold, wet and even at times snowy fall has this year’s harvest lagging well behind normal.
Paul Kassel, a Crops Specialist with the Iowa State University Extension Service, says the USDA’s latest crop report shows only about 50 percent of the beans have been harvested statewide. Locally, Kassel says it’s less than that.
Kassel says a break in the weather over the weekend allowed some producers to resume the harvest, but he says soybeans are not being accepted by most elevators due to high moisture content. As a result he says producers are having to dry them down first.
Kassel says the same will be true with corn, which didn’t have a chance to naturally dry down either due to the rain and snow. He says the added costs of drying the crops will only add to the woes of the late harvest.
