Local farmers have been busy over the past few weeks, and those that haven’t finished their fall harvest soon will, though prices and middling soybeans mean many have little to celebrate.

Gateway FS Grain Originator Michael Biethman offered an update on the state of the harvest in this area, and while he spoke positively, things don’t seem to be exceptional.

He noted good quality and test weight with locally harvested corn. Moisture didn’t seem to be an issue, and the crop similarly had minimal damage.

Biethman mentioned how farmers in the bottoms were able to get an early jump on the corn harvest in September even as the crop was slightly tougher.

As he explained, farmers dealing with that still moist corn might have a means of drying it on their property, though many bring it in, accepting the discount they encounter due to the moisture and hoping the water adds enough to the test weight to let them reach about the same profit as they might have with a later harvest.

Generally, the corn harvest seems to be somewhat above average compared to previous years.

Biethman said the bean harvest has been fairly average, though test weight reports there have been more varied.

Quality, at least, has been fair for beans as well, with minimal damage concerns.

When it comes to the profit outlook for the harvest, Biethman mentioned input costs have come down slightly compared to last year and corn seems to be slightly more lucrative than soybeans at this point.

“They’re making more money this year on the corn side as opposed to the bean side is closer to break-even,” Biethman said. “There’s not a lot of money there. You’re not losing, but you’re not making money.”

Biethman did note that “break-even” can mean different things from farmer to farmer given factors such as renting the land and other costs of production.

Impressed with prices earlier in the harvest, Biethman was also positive about the direction of prices at this point in the year.

“Prices have rallied a little bit, but it is November,” Biethman said. “It is the end of harvest, and that is typical.”

Looking to the future, Biethman noted many farmers look to be selling their beans now while holding off on their corn given that the anticipated price growth for the latter is more optimistic.

Those farmers looking to sell soybeans in the months to come will be looking at Brazil as that harvest begins early in the year.

“They harvest more beans than the United States does,” Biethman said. “It’s basically all eyes on their market. If they don’t grow as many beans, our beans rally.”

Farmers offering a local, first-hand perspective had similar thoughts to share.

Dan Mueller was positive about the corn he’s harvested in both the hills and bottoms of Monroe County.

Still working to wrap up the harvest, he acknowledged some slight difficulties he’s run into as he’s returned to the fields following substantial rains over the past week.

On his end, Mueller said his outlook for the year is about the same as last year, with strong yields but prices that could be better.

“As dry as the year was, I’m very impressed with the crop as far as the yields go,” Mueller said. “It’s been a very good year. I wish the prices were better, but not much we can do about prices.”

Steve Degener – still wrapping up his harvest – voiced a similar sentiment, saying that his corn harvest was average or better while his beans were more disappointing.

He noted that the lack of August rains seemed to have a negative impact on the soybeans he’s been harvesting.

Degener pointed to input costs and how they seem to not have come down with grain prices. He generally described things as break-even at best.

“We hope the prices go up, and they usually do at the end of winter,” Degener said. “Maybe with the new president, we’ll see what happens… I’m optimistic. If you aren’t optimistic, you can’t farm.”

Tyler Henry is also bringing his fall harvest to a close and similarly had a middling opinion at this point in the season.

He reported average bean yields – impacted somewhat by flooding from nearby creeks given some heavy rains over the summer – and average to above average corn yields.

From his perspective, the year seemed to be a bit of a disappointment compared to the past three years which have been more positive for him, though he voiced his hopes for the markets to continue a positive trend he’s noticed quite recently.

“Prices are definitely down from where they’ve been the past three years, so we’re feeling that a little bit,” Henry said.