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MARSHALL -- Recent rains complicated already damp field conditions, further delaying corn and soybean harvests for many area farmers.
"The rain has been keeping them out of the fields," said Tim Moline, agronomics consultant at Centrol Crop Consulting of Marshall. "It’s been a very slow start and a challenging time for most producers because not only is the field wet, it’s that the moisture of the crop hasn’t gotten to an acceptable level to be harvested."
Moline said corn moisture levels are typically between 15-20 percent by this point in the growing season. But according to reports he’s gotten recently, moisture levels are higher than that.
"The crops are mature, but we just need to have acceptable moisture for harvest," he said. "The majority of corn producers I talked to last week that were able to harvest said the moisture levels were between 25-30 percent. It comes back to the weather conditions we had in July and August, when we had a lot of cooler days and not as many days with sunshine. So there’s definitely concerns that we need to have some warmer weather and sunshine to dry it in the fields."
Soybean harvest is facing similar challenges -- wet fields and higher-than-normal moisture levels regarding the crops.
"There was a small window for some producers to get some soybeans out," Moline said. "There were select fields that were ready or ready enough for harvest last week and this week -- most fields will be ready to harvest -- it's just whether the moisture level is ready or not to take in to the elevator or put in storage. Optimally, we'd like to see our beans around 13 percent moisture, but it's been in the 15-plus percent area."
Moline said farmers aren't at the point of panicking because they can't get in the fields but noted that the ideal harvesting window is getting smaller.
"It'll be OK if the weather changes," he said. "If we get another week of cold, wet weather, it will be concerning. We're starting to get to the point where we need to be in the fields. We're about two weeks behind, I'd say, what I'd call average harvest for corn and soybeans."
Coming off two straight years of record crops, Minnesota farmers were hoping for good yields and good prices in 2017.
"Last year was a really good year," said Brad Verly, who works for Minnesota West Community and Technical College through Marshall Area Farm Business Management. "It was one of the best yielding for corn and beans that we've ever had -- at least one of the best in my experience. My family has farmed for more than 40 years, and it's the best they've had."
High yields have helped offset low prices last year. Verly said he anticipates low prices again this harvest season.
"A lot of it is supply and demand," he said. "It has something to do with exporting and importing on a global scale and that whole dynamic. It's just the way it is. We're hoping it turns around some."
The demand for ethanol could also be a factor.
"There's just a lot of corn out there," Verly said. "Last year was a big yield, so the supply is there. But the demand for ethanol has dropped, so that's had a big impact. All of those things come into play."
Verly said the price of beans and corn is down this year, as it was last year.
"It's good if yields are high because the prices aren't really good," he said. "It helps some to balance it out. The beans are a little under $9 and corn is around $3, so it's pretty low."
Since Verly and his co-workers assist area farmers with financial management, he knows there are a lot of costs associated with farming -- costs that take away from profits.
"If you have 200 bushels an acre and corn is $3, you have a $600 income," Verly said. "But then you have $200 rent for the land, seed costs of about $125 per acre and fertilizer costs roughly $100 an acre. Chemicals might be another $35 -- those are just some of the other costs. There's also machinery, including repairs and depreciation, along with fuel costs. When you add up all of those things, you can see how hard it is to make money. The market is tough."
If the weather doesn't warm up and help fields dry out, farmers will also likely have additional costs associated with drying corn.
"It'll depend on how wet it will be," Moline said. "If we don't get warmer temps and sunshine, that'll definitely add costs on to the corn because the guys will spend more money having to dry it down. That's more expenses on a year that is already thin for margins."
Moline's assessment of the yield was similar to Verly's.
"The early reports as far as the yields are looking good," Moline said. "It's not as good as last year -- last year was a record-setting yield. This year will be average to above-average as far as yield levels."
Moline said that the immediate Marshall area is actually in line with average levels of rainfall, though with a twist.
"The rainfall is average in Marshall for the year, but what's different is the time at which the precipitation came," he said. "We've had a lot more in the last month than we usually see -- there wasn't as much in July, but we're seeing more in late September and October."
Wet conditions also caused issues for some farmers in the spring when they tried to plant their fields. Some fields also had hail damage during the summer.
"Last year, we had perfect weather conditions," Verly said. "We didn't have quite as good of weather this year, and locally, some got hail at the end of June. The Lynd area got hit hard -- it took a beating on the crops, so there were people who replanted. They planted the second time around July 1, so about two months later so there's a much shorter window to grow."
Like Moline, Verly said very few bean or corn crops have been harvested because of the wet conditions. Most farmers who were out in the corn fields did so for silage, he said.
"There hasn't been much corn or beans out yet," Verly said. "Some people do silage -- they feed it to cattle -- so they take it out earlier. That's when the whole plant basically gets taken out and chopped up. If people have livestock, they might be doing that now."
Verly added that there could be other areas where conditions have been more favorable for timely harvests, but overall, farmers are being delayed. Yields could also vary.
"In think in general, yields will be average or maybe slightly above average," he said. "But there may be some pockets that might be below average, too, because of hail and other factors. The rain has definitely kept people from getting on the combine. Hopefully it stops raining. We don't need any more rain."
As farmers play the waiting game to get in the fields, Moline sympathizes but remains optimistic.
"If we can get in the field in the next week or two, we'll be in great shape," Moline said. "But anxiety will really set in if we get past October 15 and we haven't gotten much out."