Posted: 11/9/04
Corn harvest is ëimpressiveí
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The local corn harvest is late but good.
That summed up Scott Bulmanís assessment as he sat in the cab of his tractor for a brief interview last Thursday evening.
He and his father, Barton, had just finished picking corn on a field owned by Orville Guth north of Caledonia along Highway 44. Barton had driven the combine, and Scott pulled the grain cart which the combine filled with corn.
Scott said that fields are averaging 160-200 bushels of corn, which he said is above average. One field even spiked at 240 bushels per acre. A yield monitor in the combine and a scale on the cart keeps track of the yield.
ìBut itís wetter than normal,î Scott said. He figured farmers were two weeks behind in the harvest compared to last year.
The Bulmans mostly combine their own corn, but they combine for two or three other farmers. They have seen moisture content of corn at 24-32 percent. ëI know thereís some drier out there,î Scott added. ìWe havenít seen it yet.î Corn should be dried to 14 percent moisture before it is stored or sold.
The yield is good, he said, especially considering the wet conditions that prevailed early in the planting season. And itís good compared to the soybean yields, which are below average, Scott said.
ìItís impressive this year,î he said. ìEven though we have a low price, the yield can make up a big difference.
Recent rains have slowed the harvest, and the corn probably wonít dry much more this fall, Scott said. He attributed that to the cool weather that occurred in August.
Corn prices indicate that there is a surplus of corn, Scott said. Farmers who contracted their corn in the spring will probably receive a $1 more per bushel, he guessed.
Caledonia Argus
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