Farmers experience quick harvest of a short crop
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
It seemed like area farmers had barely gotten started with the wheat harvest when they were looking to wrap it up. The huge reaping machines gobbled up the thin fields in record time.
Harvest began June 20, and many farmers were expecting to finish today or tomorrow, with yields far below normal.
Dry weather the past few weeks allowed the crop to ripen rapidly, taking excess moisture out of the grain in the process.
Perry Gutsch at Lincolnville Agri-Producers said test weights ranged from 43 to 60 pounds per bushel, with most falling in the 53- to 54-pound range. Farmers were reporting yields ranging from five to 25 bushels per acre.
The Lincolnville elevator had taken in 150,000 bushels by Tuesday morning. Almost 600,000 bushels were received in 2006. The price at 11 a.m. Tuesday was $5.57.
Cooperative Grain and Supply in Hillsboro reported receiving 147,594 bushels of wheat through Monday. The elevator took in a total of 567,115 bushels the previous year.
Test weights averaged 55.5 pounds per bushel, with dockage running at 3.67 percent.
At Marion's Cooperative Grain and Supply, receipts through Monday totaled 141,342 bushels. In 2006, the elevator took in 585,960.
Test weights ranged from the upper 40s to 61 pounds per bushel, with an average of 55.3. Farmers were reporting yields of 10-30 bushels per acre. Dockage for low test weight or foreign material averaged 2.19 percent.
According to manager Mike Thomas, this harvest season will go down as one of the shortest on record.
"It took three days to take in what we normally would receive in one big day," he said.
He noted farmers were disappointed at first but were happy to get 15 or so bushels from fields that looked like they would yield nothing.
