The rain that has arrived in our area is bringing mixed feelings among farmers. Many would like to be continuing their fall harvest, but the rain is giving them a break. On the other hand, though, the rain is sorely needed in our area.
Tom Fricke, Public Information Spokesman for the Vermilion County Farm Bureau, says sub-soil moisture in our area was rated 50-percent short or very short before this week’s rain began. That compares with last year at this time when 88-percent of the sub-soil moisture locally was adequate and 12-percent was surplus.
Fricke talked with Alan Chestnut, who farms in the Ridge Farm area, just before the rain began on Wednesday and asked him how this fall’s harvest is going. ‘’It’s going pretty good. The beans we’re cutting real well mainly because it was too dry. We lost moisture on beans. But things were drying down since there was no rain. And then we kind of hit a standstill on the bean side because we had a half-inch of rain on Tuesday – just a pop-up rain. But there’s still quite a few guys down here shelling corn,’’ said Chestnut on Wednesday.
And what percentage of the crop is out of the fields so far in Chestnut’s area in southern Vermilion County? ‘’Beans would probably be 80-85 percent – maybe a little better,’’ said Chestnut. ‘’Corn is maybe 5 to 10-percent. We had such good weather that everybody just started cutting beans, and they were maturing so fast – and changing so fast – that everybody just stuck with the beans,’’ added Chestnut.
And Chestnut said the yields have been average to a little better than average so far.
Fricke also talked to a farmer in the Potomac area who said the fall harvest is just getting underway.
And, of course, as farmers continue this fall’s harvest, motorists are reminded to watch-out for slow-moving farm equipment out on the roads.
