Staff writer
Farmers are turning attention from soybeans harvest to cutting milo across Marion County.
Phil Timken, location manager for Mid Kansas Coop Association in Peabody, said about 99-percent of soybean crops surrounding Peabody have been cut, but weather and pests have slowed milo harvest.
“We’ve got about 200,000 bushels of soybeans,” he said, “We’re expecting about 300,000 bushels of milo, just guessing.”
Timken said the soybeans grown further south near White Water and Elbing tend to look better because the area received more moisture and has a little deeper soil.
As of Thursday, he said about half of the area’s milo had yet to come in.
“There’s a lot of double-crop milo that hasn’t been cut yet,” Timken said. “It’s been difficult with the high humidity and some sprinkles in the mornings. Many farmers haven’t been able to get into cut until the afternoon.”
When farmers do get into the milo fields, he said, sugarcane aphids slow cutting because they create a sticky mess that can hinder combines. Some plants have fallen over, which further complicates harvest.
He estimated milo harvest to wrap up around Thanksgiving.
Dick Tippin, grain coordinator with Co-operative Grain and Supply in Hillsboro, said a few trucks are still dropping off soybeans, and milo harvest is about 75 percent complete.
“Soybeans have looked really good and most are dry,” Tippin said. “Most people have been happy with their yields. The double-cropped soybeans have done just about as good as full-season beans.”
He said most milo has been good quality too, but the crops that have been cut later in the season have proved to be more moist because the weather has caused crops to dry slower.
Hillsboro elevator has taken about 500,000 bushels of soybeans and 160,000 bushels of milo.
He said Marion elevator sits at about 303,000 bushels of soybeans and 92,000 bushels of milo, Canton elevator has 76,000 bushels of soybeans and 102,000 bushels of milo, and Lehigh has 65,000 bushels of soybeans and 31,000 bushels of milo.
“Most guys are averaging about 57 pound per bushel on milo and soybeans,” Tippin said. “Milo fields are getting anywhere from 50 to 100 bushels per acre and soybean fields are probably about 20 to 50 bushels per acre.”
Tippin said sugarcane aphids reduced the milo crops about 25 bushels per acre in fields that were not sprayed. However, recent weather has been good for harvest.
Furthest north, in Tampa, Stan Utting, general manager with Agro Producers, said soybeans are 95 percent harvested, but milo harvest is just getting started.
“We’ve done about 1.4 million bushels of soybeans,” Utting said. “It’s a little above average. We were pleasantly surprised.”
He attributed the higher yields in soybeans to moist weather.
He said soybeans range from about 30 to 40 bushels per acre, but he could not confirm the average pounds per bushel.
Numerous fields in the area were also sprayed for sugarcane aphids this year.
He said prices are down from last year in soybeans and milo.