26 November 4, 2014 2014 LOGAN COUNTY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com
Projections said that we would have an
incredible corn yield and an unknown bean
yield. Most thought that the bean yield would
be hurt because beans don’t like “wet feet.”
And we certainly had plenty of wet this year.
Shew said the bean crop yielded much more
than expected and even when it was thought
that the crop might be damaged by late rains
that crushed down beans still laden with
leaves, the yield has been spectacular.
Most producers who shared corn figures
cited yields of 220 – 270 bushels per acre.
Pre-planning for a sizable corn-crop made
Bauer decide to empty all his bins and ready
his bunker for on-the-ground storage at the
beginning of the season. This meant that he
would deploy the bunker when conditions
were right rather than as a last minute
emergency measure. The result could be less
spoilage and less shrinkage.
Because the harvest was delayed by wet corn
in the field, storage issues were not as severe
as predicted. The glut of corn came in slowly
and allowed end-users to consume much of the
product as it came in from the fields. Many
elevators put up new bins this year but because
of the slowed harvest rate little extra storage
was necessary. At this point in the harvest
(October 28), Shew believes that 90% of beans
and 86% of corn had been harvested in his
area.
Unlike the 2012 crop, there were few fungus
problems this year even though it was very
wet. Some areas, according to Shew, produced
cob-rot due to moisture and the hybrid that
was used, but for the most part fungus was
well under control.
Bauer compared the work load of the 2012
aflatoxin year to this year: during the aflatoxin
year three people slaved to keep up with the
loads coming in, examining and testing each
load. This year one person could manage
the operation easily. Bauer said that he was
hopeful that the aflatoxin experience was a
once in a lifetime event.
Both Shew and Bauer agree that servicing
their clients is the most important thing in
their business. Bill Sahs of Lincoln stated
that farmers will bring their crop to the closest
elevator because it makes the best financial
sense to keep your transportation costs low.
But if service is lacking, those priorities might
change.
Both Bauer and Shew mentioned that there
were a few days when elevators had to
close early so that the dryers could catch
up, but it was limited to just a few days.
Some elevators put in automated scales and
Continued
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