Looking ahead 
to the harvest

These soybean and corn fields in eastern Bureau County are looking good, but area farmers are watching the calendar, hoping to win the harvest race against the weather. Late planting has resulted in crops that are several weeks behind schedule. (BCR photo/Barb Kromphardt)

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In the end, it’s all going to come down to the weather.

“When I walk out into my crops, I think this is the best we’ve ever had,” said Rob Sharkey, who farms in the Bradford area. “Then I look at the calendar and realize what date it is.”

Despite late planting, cold weather and a soggy July, farmers still have reasons to be optimistic about this fall’s harvest, according to the Crop Production Report released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Corn production is forecast at 12.8 billion bushels, up 5 percent from last year, but down 2 percent from the 2007 record. Yields are expected to average 159.5 bushels per acre, up 5.6 bushels from last year. If realized, this will be the second highest yield on record.

But its all going to be dependent on the weather.

“We’re at the mercy of an early frost,” Sharkey said. “I would love to start harvesting Sept. 15, but that’s a sky high dream.”

Here in Illinois, the 2009 corn crop is expected to yield 175 bushels per acre, down four bushels from last year’s yield. Production of corn for grain would be 2.12 billion bushels, down slightly from 2008.

As usual, expectations for Bureau County exceed those of the state average. Bureau County is located on the line between the northwest and central portions of the state. Yields in those sections are estimated to range from 175 bushels per acre in the northwest, to 193 bushels per acre in the central section.

Turning to soybeans, farmers across the country are still on target for producing the largest soybean crop in history. Soybean production is forecast at a record-high, 3.2 billion bushels, up 8 percent from last year. Yield is expected to average 41.7 bushels per acre, up 2.1 bushels per acre from 2008. If realized, this will tie for the fourth highest yield on record.

With the exception of Illinois, yields are forecast higher or unchanged from last year across the Corn Belt and Great Plains in every state but Illinois, where the picture isn’t quite as rosy.

In Illinois, soybean production in 2009 is expected to reach 398.2 million bushels, 7 percent below last year’s production. Yield is forecast at 44 bushels per acre, three bushels below last year.

In Bureau County, yield estimates range from 48 bushels per acre in the northwest to 51 bushels per acre in the central district of the state.

But again, it’s all going to depend on the date of that first frost.

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