Farmers have combined almost 40 percent of the national corn crop
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Growers in one of the primary corn-producing states are nearly finished their 2018 corn harvest.
Producers in North Carolina have completed 91 percent of their corn harvest, the USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin says. That number is up from 88 percent last week and is the highest among the 18 documented states.
Farmers in the state who have finished corn harvest are pleased with their crop.
“We finished about three weeks ago and it turned out better than I thought it would,” Franklin Lee, a producer from Stanly County, told Farms.com. “We’re not in the best corn growing area of the state and we averaged a yield of about 110 bushels per acre.”
On a national level, corn harvest is almost 40 percent complete.
Farmers have combined about 39 percent of the U.S. corn crop, the USDA says. That figure is up by 5 percent from last week.
Growers in North Dakota have completed about 12 percent of their state harvest, which is the lowest of the recorded states.
U.S. soybean growers are also moving along with harvest.
Producers have harvested about 38 percent of the national soybean crop, the USDA says. That figure is up from 32 percent last week.
Growers in Louisiana are 86 percent through their soybean harvest. That number is up from 79 percent last week and represents the furthest progress in the recorded states.
Some producers have finished their soybean harvest and are reporting record crops.
“We averaged about 68 bushels per acre, and that’s the best soybean crop we’ve ever had,” Raymond Schexnayder, a producer from Ventress, La., told Farms.com.
Other growers, however, are battling wet conditions, drying challenges and disease damage, he added.
“When it was time to harvest the beans, it started raining. So farmers had to pay for drying,” he said. “There’s also been reports of purple seed stain, which can reduce soybean quality.”
Producers in Kansas have combined 16 percent of their beans, which is the lowest of the primary production states.
The U.S. winter wheat crop continues to emerge.
About 44 percent of the national winter wheat crop is up, the USDA says. That figure represents a 14 percent increase from last week.
Winter wheat in Nebraska is 75 percent emerged, which is up from 60 percent last week.
Early reports indicate the crop is in good condition, said Royce Schaneman, executive director of the Nebraska Wheat Board.
“We had some favorable planting conditions, so anybody who was able to get the crop in is in good shape,” he told Farms.com. “The state is at about 90 percent planted but, in the last week, we’ve received a combination of rain, snow and sleet.
“Growers are now trying to wait out the weather, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens to that last 10 percent of winter wheat that still needs to be planted.”
Winter wheat is 2 percent emerged in North Carolina and California, which are the lowest states among the documented ones.