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Checking in on the U.S. grain harvest

Checking in on the U.S. grain harvest

Some farmers are pleased with harvest given the challenges of 2019

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

American farmers continue to make their way through the 2019 harvest.

Growers have harvested 75 percent of the U.S. corn crop and 87 percent of the soybean crop, the USDA’s Nov. 5 Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin says. Both those figures are slightly below last year’s progress.

Given the challenges farmers faced during the 2019 season, some producers are pleased with their crops.

“Harvest has gone better than we were expecting,” Phil Ramsey, a cash crop producer from Shelbyville, Ind., told Farms.com. “We’ve got our soybeans done and will finish corn in the next four or five days. Yields were better than we were anticipating but nowhere near where they needed to be for us to be profitable.”

One hurdle some U.S. farmers are navigating this fall is a propane shortage.

Governors from eight states signed a regional emergency declaration to ease regulations on propane transportation.

But Ramsey decided years ago to make a significant investment so he wouldn’t be caught in a position where he couldn’t dry his grain.

“The last time we had (a propane shortage) happen, about five years ago, I paid to have a natural gas line run to the dryer so I wouldn’t have the same problem” again, he said. “The natural gas hasn’t been as quick a payback as I thought it was going to be, but it’s definitely been worth the investment since I’m not in a position where I can’t dry my grain.”

Other producers, however, view the harvest differently.

Mother Nature’s cooperation for a good portion of the harvest might be the only positive to take away from this season, said Ryan Rhoades, a grain grower from Prospect, Ohio, who finished his harvest last week.

“We had phenomenal September and October weather that really paid dividends. I would give that an A grade,” he told Farms.com. “The crop, on the other hand, was horrible. I would put this as some of the worse crops in the nation. I’d give the whole harvest a D.”

Reflecting on the 2019 season, Rhoades remembered a saying his grandfather shared.

“A drought will starve you, but a flood will kill you,” he said. “That’s absolutely true. We just had too much water and it seriously wrecks your world.”


Trending Video

US “Flash Drought” Worst in 133-160 Years + Disease taking a Bite out of US 2025 Corn/Soybean Crops

Video: US “Flash Drought” Worst in 133-160 Years + Disease taking a Bite out of US 2025 Corn/Soybean Crops


A dry August and a “flash drought” in the ECB (Eastern Corn Belt) the driest top 10 to 15 years in 150 to 160 years (Ohio the driest in 133 years) plus disease is taking a bite out of the 2025 U.S. corn and soybean crops.
It's going to be an early harvest. This could be the start of the 89-year drought cycle that may have been delayed until 2026 as La Nina maybe returning.
The USDA September crop report is all about record corn ears and record soybean counts but the October USDA crop report will be about pod and ear weights.
Stats Canada reported higher forecasts for the 2025 Canadian Prairies all wheat and canola crops vs. last year based on satellite imagery but are they overestimating production?
The 2025 Great ON Yield Tour and Quebec crop tours are projecting corn and soybean crops below the 10-year average.
China's Vice Commerce Ministry Li Chenggang visits Washington this week as we continue to connect the dots is a positive sign towards a China/U.S. trade deal. But will U.S. farmers have a winter without China as they buy more soybeans from Uruguay/Argentina? U.S. Northern Plain soybean farmers are seeing red with flat prices at $8.97/bu!
U.S. corn exports on record pace up 99% vs. last year.
Fund short covering continues in corn futures bottom is in!