View from the Cab: The harvest marathon

By Kent Casson

Remember harvest is a marathon not a sprint.

I need to keep reminding myself of this as I see other farmers wrapping-up their harvest and think we need to be done right away as well. Everyone is different as some operations are bigger than others, field conditions vary and decisions aren’t the same.

Some went out there fairly early in September to get a jump on things while others waited for corn moisture levels to come down a bit.

Many producers ventured out into soybean fields for harvest in late September when moisture levels dropped considerably, meaning they were losing a few bucks on every acre as things were getting almost too dry. On the other hand, you have to get those soybeans out before weather conditions turn otherwise, they could be out there for months waiting to be harvested. That’s something no one wants.

We were surprised with how dry the corn got just after about two and a half weeks. We nosed into a few cornfields prior to soybean harvest and the full-season stuff was plenty wet with moisture well up into the upper 20s if not low 30s even. Then, when we got back into corn, we had readings in the teens for moisture. I guess there will be hardly any drying costs at the elevator this year.

Even though we could use a rain shower to settle the dust and start replenishing our moisture levels ahead of the next season, we have had a decent weather window to get crops out of the field. In fact, many are saying they can’t remember a harvest that was so dry. Even the drought year of 2012 saw some tropical storm and hurricane remnants move through in the early fall.

We had one brief rain event in early October along with strong winds that slowed things down for about a day, but it has been nonstop ever since. Those of us in farm country are working sunrise to sunset so please still be on the lookout for large equipment on roadways and watch for those flashing lights and slow-moving vehicle signs.

Those working at grain elevators have also been working hard during the past several weeks and will still have some busy days ahead as we start to wind down the 2024 harvest. Hats off to those guys and gals in the office and out in the pits helping to dump grain from customer wagons, grain trucks and semis.

We can do this. If you look closely, you can see that light at the end of the tunnel. It is drawing nearer each day.

Stay safe my friends.