Soybean harvest surges

Upper Midwest soybean farmers took full advantage of beautiful early October weather.

“The harvest is really swinging into high gear,” says John Kringler, North Dakota State University extension agent in Cass County, traditionally the nation’s leading soybean producer.

He says yields vary greatly, from well above average to far below average.

In Cass County, for instance, soybeans’ average per-acre yield is in the mid-30s. This year, bushel-per-acre yields range from the low 20s to the mid 50s, Kringler estimates.

Anthony Bly, Sioux Falls-based soils field specialist with South Dakota State University Extension, also points to variable yields.

“You’ve got some really excellent yields,”he says. “And there are some that aren’t good.”

Yields across the Upper Midwest vary every growing season, of course. But the variability might be especially pronounced this year.

The wet spring forced many fields to be planted unusually late, and late-planted fields typically yield less.

Then, late summer turned dry in much of the region, stressing still-growing beans. Some fields received timely, much-needed rains in late August and early September. Some fields didn’t.

Mike Skaug, a Beltrami, Minn., farmer, says he benefitted from late-summer rains. Some of the rain, as much as 4 inches in places, was excessive and caused drown-out, but on balance the moisture helped his soybeans.

Another reason for variability in the region’s soybean yields: widespread mid-September frost. Frost was especially hard on late-planted soybeans, which needed more time to develop fully.

Even so, soybeans across much of the Upper Midwest enjoyed favorable weather and ample moisture most of the growing season. That led to generally good yields for soybeans that were planted on schedule this spring and that avoided late-summer moisture shortages and the mid-September freeze, farmers say.

NASS numbers

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released harvest numbers on Oct. 6, reflecting progress on Oct. 5.

In South Dakota, 25 percent of soybeans were harvested on Oct. 5, up from 7 percent a week earlier but down from the five-year average of 45 percent on Oct. 5.

Minnesota farmers harvested 23 percent of their soybeans by Oct. 5, up from 10 percent a week earlier but down from the five-year average of 48 percent on Oct. 5.

In North Dakota, 31 percent of soybeans were harvested on Oct. 5, up from 9 percent a week earlier but down from the five-year average of 45 percent on Oct. 5.

Harvest totals in all three states will be much higher when NASS releases its updated figures on Oct. 13, reflecting progress on Oct. 12. The week of Oct. 5 brought widespread sunshine and daily highs in the 50s and 60s, allowing rapid harvest progress.

But some farmers reported harvest delays because of what’s sometimes referred to as “pumpkins.” These are a relatively small number of still-green beans, larger and more difficult to combine than the rest of the mature, ready-to-harvest beans in the same field.

A hard freeze would make the pumpkins easier to harvest, farmers say.

Wheat and corn

Soybeans, along with wheat and corn, are the Upper Midwest’s three major crops.

Most area farmers have finished harvesting their wheat. But North Dakota, Montana and northwest Minnesota have wet pockets where some wheat remains to be combined. Farmers say the remaining wheat won’t be finished for several weeks.

Small amounts of corn were harvested by Oct. 5 in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. The general corn harvest, however, isn’t expected to begin until the middle of October, at the earliest.

The mid-September frost also hit many area corn fields, shutting down plant growth sooner than farmers wanted. That will hurt yields and accelerate harvest of late-planted corn.