Corn galore: Harvest brings surprises for area farmers

LANSING - Area farmers have been pleasantly surprised as the harvest of corn and soybeans progresses.

Good weather conditions have allowed farmers to access the fields without difficulty, and they are seeing higher yields than they did last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting a corn yield of 164 bushels per acre, based on conditions as of Sept. 1. That would establish a new state record and finish three bushels per acre higher than last year's harvest. The soybeans harvest is estimated to be at 47 bushels per acre, which is four bushels per acre higher than last year.

"The yields I have seen have surprised me. Even some of the farmers have been surprised. They did not think that they had the type of yields that they were seeing in the fields," said George Silva, MSU Extension field crops specialist for Ingham and Eaton counties,

He said the harvest is about 50 percent complete for both corn and soybeans.

"The farmers that want to plant winter wheat are working to get the soybeans out of the field so that the planting can take place. Right now we are seeing favorable conditions so the harvest is progressing well," Silva said.

Heavier than expected rain in the Lansing area and further south this summer caused some fields to flood and forced some farmers to have to replant their crops. Silva said despite the rain the yields are good.

"If we would have had less rainfall it would have been a huge season."

Clinton County farmers did not experience the excess rains that farmers to the south had and are also seeing good yields, according to Marilyn Thelen, crop and livestock systems educator for Clinton County MSU Extension.

"Based on what I have heard we are seeing an above-average yield for soybeans. The farmers are just getting started on harvesting corn but the ones who have started have had good yields and good moisture. So they should not have to spend money to dry it," Thelen said.

Jeff Sandborn, who farms about 1,900 acres in Ionia County, said he has completed the soybean harvest and had an above average yield.

"We are just starting to roll on harvesting the corn, but we are still about three weeks ahead of schedule. From what I have seen so far the corn moisture is lower than normal and the yields are above average," he said.

Sandborn said the crops in his area benefited from the weather conditions this year.

"We missed a lot of the big rains that drowned some fields to the south, and we also saw some pockets of hot weather for three or four days at a time. The crops never got stressed out like they did in some previous seasons," Sandborn said.

"From what I have heard everyone is happy," he added. "A lot of farmers are still harvesting but the feeling is that it is going well."

While the prices that farmers are receiving for their crops are not as high as they would like, Silva said, they are better than expected.

"The prices are slightly lower than last year, but have picked up a little," Silva said. "Usually the prices keep going down during the harvest. But we have seen some strengthening of the prices in September and October."

The USDA estimates that 2.45 million acres of corn were planted in Michigan this year, down 100 ,000 acres from last year, and that 2.1 million acres of soybeans were planted, down 50,000 acres from last year.

Silva said the ethanol plants in Woodbury and near Albion have also been beneficial for area farmers.

"Those plants have been accepting corn when they have a need. So that provides another outlet for farmers to sell their crop," Silva said.

Contact Tom Thelen at (517) 377-1097 or tthelen@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomThelen_LSJ