Not quite harvest time

SPRINGFIELD – Some of the larger farmers south of Springfield who planted corn in late March have moisture levels in the low 30s.

Growers closer to St. Louis will be hauling corn to that area since some facilities can handle wetter corn, but harvest hasn’t ramped up in the immediate Springfield area. We are typically a week or two behind Springfield in our part of Central Illinois.

“There’ll be some harvest begin probably next week,” says John Allen, retail sales manager for Springfield-based Brandt Consolidated. “I don’t think it will be of any big magnitude at least for a couple of weeks.”

Typically, once the Labor Day holiday passes, several growers start to take a serious look at firing up the combine and heading out into the field.

Allen says this is a critical time of the year to sit down with your ag retailer to decide what you will need for lime application this fall. Growers should also take a look at their P and K needs.

“We’ve had some good crops the last few years and we want to analyze that soil test and see where we have opportunities,” Allen adds.

The NPK market is a good value compared to years past. Nitrogen is down from last year and phosphate is fairly flat, although potash is up slightly.