Aberle nears harvest completion

GIBSON CITY – Randy Aberle is hoping to finish harvest later in the week before getting going hard on fall tillage.

The Gibson City farmer is about two-thirds done with his harvest and considers himself in good shape.

“We got beans done before the rain started a couple of weeks ago so we are thankful for that,” Aberle told The Central Illinois Farm Network over the weekend. “We are making really good progress on corn.”

Aberle’s yields have been good for the most part as the area he farms in didn’t get super dry in August and yields are reflecting that. He noticed some really big responses to fungicide on beans and hasn’t had the chance to dig through any of the tests in corn yet.

Bean leaf beetles were an issue for some areas late in the summer and Aberle sprayed a good chunk of his beans with insecticide.

“We didn’t leave any checks so I can’t say if it was necessary or not. We raise all seed beans so quality is a big deal for us as far as premiums and things like that.”

Going back to the previous planting season, there was a short window in mid-April where a few growers were able to get planters rolling. It was during this time that Aberle was able to start planting beans. He did not put any corn in the ground during April with all of the cold, wet weather.

“I think that was a good move going by some of the yields that I’ve heard. We put about half of ours in during the middle of May and the second half was the beginning of June,” Aberle noted.

While some of Aberle’s beans went into the ground during the third week of April, it was mid-May and early June before some of the other beans went in.

“All in all, yields have been really good and we’ve been really pleased.”