Corn harvest surges; beets enter midseason

    Local corn crops are finally making their way into town, as the harvest picks up following a week of wet weather.
    Steve Young of CHS Grainland said the weather had a definite impact on the harvest efforts but that he hasn’t seen a significant impact on the quality of the corn being delivered.
    “There may be some impact due to the hail, but I think we’re going to see some pretty good corn,” he said. “It’s looking very good so far.”
    The first dryland corn yields were delivered in late September, and as of Monday, Oct. 29, Young said he believed the harvest was about halfway done.
    Steve Bahnsen of Paoli Farmers Co-op also said corn yields have been variable due to the weather and recent rain slowed harvest efforts.
    “Our yields have run the gamut; some of them in dry areas really took it on the chin,” he said. “We’re seeing a little bit of everything this year.”
    Hail around the periphery of the county caused some crop losses. In spite of this, Bahnsen said the quality of corn received so far was excellent and estimated their harvest was between 55 and 60 percent done. Bahnsen added that they had also received a very small amount of milo.

Beets hit halfway mark
    Les Watada of Western Sugar said the start of the regular beet harvest was planned for Oct. 9 but was delayed 11 days due to rain and a hard freeze which may have damaged some crops. Regardless, he said yields have been decent so far, averaging around 30 tons of beets per acre.
    Watada said recent cold weather did not hit Phillips County as hard as other areas but still had an impact on crop quality.
    “It’s not 100 percent how it should be, but I think it’s as good as it could be,” he said.
    Watada estimated Tuesday morning, Oct. 30, that the harvest was about halfway done and could wrap up within two weeks if the weather cooperates.