Corn harvest begins in parts of Illinois

BLOOMINGTON — Most farmers are starting harvest earlier than usual despite recent cool weather that slowed the drying process of corn in area fields.

In McLean County, harvest began for many after Labor Day, which was a little earlier than usual for Downs-area farmer Dennis Wentworth. “It’s still a little early,” said Wentworth. “It’s about usual for the past two years, maybe a little early if you average the last 10 years.”

Wentworth is cutting a limited amount of his driest corn this week, and predicts he’ll have harvest in full swing by mid-September.

Beason-area farmer Larry Huelskoetter started harvesting last week in Logan County, nearly two weeks ahead of his usual schedule. He was surprised by early yields of 170 to 180 bushels per acre.

“That’s an amazing yield for us. We figured it would be burnt up,” said Huelskoetter.

Wentworth predicts yields of about 160 bushels per acre, 20 percent below average.

Cooler weather kept some farmers out of the fields a few more days as they waited for corn to dry just a little more.

“We (people) like it cooler, but the corn crop would like it about 10 degrees warmer,” said Emerson Nafziger, a University of Illinois crop scientist. “Everything is delayed a little by the cool weather, including the maturity and the drying.”

The harvest is starting later in areas where there was more summer rainfall, said Kim Craig of Bell Enterprises, a Deer Creek-based grain elevator. “We had more rain in our territory, so we’re not quite as ready as areas to the south,” he said.

Corn is drying faster in Piatt and Macon counties, where harvest began last week, said Jim Reed, a Monticello-area farmer and president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association.

“We’re getting some corn in our local elevator. Usually it would be a couple of weeks from now,” said Reed.

Eric Veech of ADM Grain Co. is seeing a difference between company grain elevators in Farmer City and those in the Decatur area.

“We’ve seen a small amount of grain come in at Farmer City, but south of Decatur they have been busy for a week or two. That is definitely a little earlier than usual,” he said.

The soybean harvest is expected to begin by mid-September, which would be close to normal, said Nafziger.

Forty-eight percent of the soybean crop is listed in excellent or good condition, the same as last week’s crop update.