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Delayed harvest in eastern South Dakota

A farmer in eastern South Dakota says he’s expecting a later-than-usual harvest for corn and soybeans this fall.

Dave Ellens says it will likely be the end of September before soybean harvest begins, due to planting season delays and late-season rains, but it should be a better-than-expected soybean crop.

“There’s a lot of four-bean pods out there, with pods top to bottom. But it’s going to come down to how big are those zeros in the field? Those drowned outs we got in May and June, how big are those areas and what’s that going to do to the overall average?”

He says the low areas might have a greater-than-expected overall effect on the soybeans. Ellens says corn silage will likely start this week, a week or two behind this time last year.

“It comes down to how much roll do you have to the field where the water could get away and how much tile you had. It will be field-by-field.”

Ellens farms corn and soybeans in Lake and Moody Counties in South Dakota.