Harvest delayed but not far off

LEXINGTON – This year’s harvest may be off to a slower start than normal, but isn’t far off for some.

August is normally our month to capture heat, but this year was different since the average August temperature was three degrees below normal.

“It was actually the twelfth coolest August on record,” said Kelsey McNamara with Brandt Consolidated.

The cool days and nights didn’t provide the drying weather many expect this time of year. McNamara believes we are delayed by a week or more in our area. When it comes to harvestability, McNamara recommends harvesting earlier hybrids and those that experienced damage during the season first.

“Things that are going to be more susceptible to stalk rot I would definitely go combine first,” McNamara said.

Those fields sprayed with fungicide during the growing season will likely have much healthier plans at harvest time than those which were not sprayed.

Brandt’s Brad Schmidgall, who manages the Fairbury location, believes now is a good time to update soil testing and make the proper fertility plans for the upcoming post-harvest period.

“Start the conversation about where we need to go with lime and maybe where our dry fertilizer rates are going to go.”

Farmers should also be thinking about fall herbicide programs and cover crops. Fall-applied herbicide is typically done in the period between Halloween and Thanksgiving for the best results and the sooner cover crops are established, the better off they will be.