Kansas farmers looking at strong fall harvest

There has been a lot of drama in crop farming in recent years, what with a drought and a few harvest-saving rains. But this year’s fall crops look strong.

The state’s corn crop is now about fully cut, except for a small percentage of fields in western Kansas. The state’s soybean and milo crops are two-thirds to three-quarters harvested. Everything should be in by Thanksgiving.

Zach Simon, crops agent for the Sedgwick County Extension Service, said the corn crop in the county is in.

“It’s pretty darn good this year,” he said. “Not quite as good as last year, maybe, on yields, but the yields are still really good on both the dryland and irrigated fields.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting 566 million bushels of corn for Kansas, virtually the same as last year and well above the 10-year average of 497 million bushels.

The USDA is forecasting 144 million bushels of soybeans, slightly above last year’s production.

Farmers growing grain sorghum confronted a new pest, the sugar cane aphid, which reduced yields, Simon said.

“I’ve heard stories of farmers moving away from milo only because of the sugar cane aphid,” he said. “I understand the damage the pest did, and price will decide a lot of it, but I would hope they don’t abandon it.”

Farther north, Eric Lange, vice president for the Mid-Kansas Co-op, said farmers throughout central and south-central Kansas had a spectacular fall.

“We are not done, but this may be the best harvest we’ve had in a very long time,” he said. “We’ll know in another 30 days.”

He said some yields are twice or more the average on soybeans.

The good news of a successful harvest can take a little of the sting out of low commodity prices, he said. But he said crop prices tend to be a bigger factor than final production in setting farm income.

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Kansas farmers looking at strong fall harvest."