Pictured, John Schneider (right) watches as corn just harvested from his farm pours from his truck into the grain elevator in Waterloo. Gateway FS employee Dave Reichert of Columbia stands by to ensure the operation is conducted safely. (Alan Dooley photo)

With an estimated two-thirds of the crop harvested in Monroe County, the 2016 corn harvest is being considered average by most.

The large number of trucks seen hauling grain may say otherwise, but the harvest probably peaked Saturday, and a lot of it is still on the move this week.

It has been a year of challenges for farmers, with corn enduring a dry June at the time it was tasseling, which is a precursor to forming ears – the reason they plant corn in the first place.

“Considering what farmers were seeing in June, if someone could have said with certainty they’d see 140 to 150 bushels per acre yields, they’d have said, ‘Sign me up!'” Gateway FS Grain Division Manager Adam Parker told the Republic-Times.

Then the series of rains later in the season caused added uncertainty as well.
And as it has turned out, Parker said area farmers are generally seeing yields near 150 bushel per acre. Some are reporting yields slightly higher, in the 160 range.

Parker said the best news about the area’s corn is that its quality is very good.

“Some farmers are bringing in corn with a pretty high level of mold up in the middle of the state,” he said, adding that this lowers the amount paid for that corn.

While the corn crop in this area is delivering average yields, the US Department of Agriculture is predicting record crops nationwide, with yields exceeding the previous record in 2014.

That, in turn, tends to drive prices down in the classical “supply and demand” equation.

Monday’s price at FS elevators was $3.04 per bushel.  While that is still a little higher than the $2.90 per bushel that corn brought in 2014, some farmers – who are able to – are banking on reductions in the USDA’s outlook as the fall progresses, and are betting on future prices.

The current price for January is $3.40. So, if a farmer has the storage capacity to hold it and wants to commit to January delivery, they can lock in that price. They can also deliver it now and pay the elevator a storage fee.

With the harvest of corn, two elements of the big-three crops in Monroe County are now in or nearing completion. Wheat produced a bumper crop. Corn is grading out as average and farmers are optimistic that soybeans may produce a very good – even record – yield in coming days and weeks.

Some soybean crops are being harvested this week.

Fuel costs are down in 2016, but many other costs are as high or higher.  So farming continues to be the gamble that characterizes the way of life.

“What do I plant? Where? When? How do I manage it?”  All these questions and many more continue to make farming a far from certain living.

The coming days will be long days for area farmers, and their work will continue at a determined pace. They have to move heavy machinery between fields as work in one finishes and they need to move to the next field.

Drivers countywide are urged to show patience and courtesy when they encounter these machines and trucks on the roads.

A smile and a wave would be deeply appreciated, too.