Needless to say, it has not been a normal September. For farmers waiting to go all out 100% on the fall harvest, a couple of key things happened this month. First, the extra humidity slowed down the drying process that farmers crave this time of year. But on the other hand, the extra heat did help corn and soybeans mature even more prior to being hit by the combines.
As CIMG Ag Director Gale Cunningham told us a while back, lots of farmers were hoping to save money this year by letting Mother Nature rather than “extra expenses” handle the drying. So for many, the wait may continue for just a bit.
Cunningham says, yes, some parts of the midwest are reporting lower than expected yields early on. BUT NOT EVERYWHERE.
AUDIO: And we’re seeing and hearing some unreasonable lower yields on corn and soybeans pretty well across the midbelt. (But) in other areas, (its) no different than any other year.
The harvest, of course, can be a stressful time. So it can be very useful to have discussions about both farmers’ mental and physical health during the just completed (Sept 21 – 25) National Farm Safety and Health Week, as well as September’s National Suicide Prevention Month. As Cunningham points out, farmers can be drained in the fall when they wake up every morning worrying about both field conditions and market prices. But on the other hand, there’s the adrenalin harvest season can bring. And that can be the most dangerous thing of all; not realizing right away that you need to take a break.
AUDIO: The farmer works all year long, just to have the smell of the harvest, and seeing all of his work throughout all of the year come to fruition. Unfortunately, they do a little bit more than what they should somedays.
Cunningham says when the farmer catches himself worrying about just one more thing, maybe it’s time to also “schedule a consistent mid-day break.”
AUDIO: “I’ve got to climb up that ladder to the grain bin and make sure everything’s okay there……” Stop for the noon meal. Shut that combine down. Walk over to the ditch and sit in the back of a pickup truck; and eat a sandwich, or a bowl of soup. Or go to town and get a meal during the noon hour.
As for the FARM AID concert in Virginia this weekend, Cunningham says it’s always been more about the educational message on what farmers go through rather than the amount of money that’s raised. He says when the first one happened in Champaign 41 autumns ago, it was a message that was very much needed then, but might fall on deaf ears today. Simply put, it’s hard to ever top the original.
AUDIO: The first concert was more of a recognition of what the farmers are actually experiencing, and not so much the money that was made there. But the message that went out was worth billions of dollars, actually.
To hear any of Gale Cunningham’s daily ag features and market reports, just go to https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/galecunningham/ for “Ag Check with Gale Cunningham.”
