Posted on 01/11/2010 8:26:35 AM PST by Kartographer
Heavy snow in parts of the Midwest could cause as much as 100 million bushels of the 2009 corn crop to be lost. According to analysts in several Corn Belt states, a significant number of acres were yet to be harvested when snow came in December. Now, with the storm that struck the first week of January adding more snow, a lot of the corn still in the field will be there for the rest of the winter. It likely won't be harvested until spring and significant yield loss will occur.
(Excerpt) Read more at wallacesfarmer.com ...
waiting until December to harvest corn seems quite risky in the midwest.......
Here in Northern Wisconsin we had a dry summer but a very wet fall, even into October/November. Harvesting was next to impossible. They allowed tractors to be on the roads til mid December, but then the snow fell. and fell and fell. So much for global warming.
We got our soybeans in just before the snow hit. When you’re a small guy, you’re at the bottom of the list for both planting and harvesting. You wait your turn and hope for the best. We got lucky, there are still alot of beans and corn out in the fields.
Rain delayed the harvest. Farmers never leave crops in the field for no good reason, no more than you open your back door and toss cash into the wind. When rain prevents timely harvest in the midwest, farmers will wait until the ground freezes and the equipment can then run, but snow accumulation will prevent even that alternative.
The deer are harvesting it as we speak.”
That will drive up deer hunting permits....you watch.
My understanding was that the amount of rain in the midwest during the fall prevented the tractors from being able to get out in the fields to conduct the harvest.
I’ve seen some that were just plowed under. As I understand it, it would have been more expensive to harvest it late with the losses than just take the write off.
Thanks for your explanation. It seemed like such a perfect year for growing corn, but there are no guarantees until the harvest is complete. We had a lot of late harvesting in Ohio but I think most of the corn was in before the snow hit.
“a significant number of acres were yet to be harvested when snow came in December”
Why was the corn left in the field until December? It always snows in December in temperate regions.
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