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Dry soybeans need the rains in southeast MO

A farmer in southeast Missouri says Tropical Storm Francine has delayed some harvest progress, but the rain is needed to alleviate severe drought in the area.

Hudson Byrd farms in Mississippi County and he tells Brownfield the moisture is especially good for soybeans, because it’s been so dry there are pods popping.

“These beans dried out so quickly and the moisture level on the beans is very low, hovering around 10% moisture. On a good year, moisture should be around 14% or a smidge above.”

Byrd says some farmers are harvesting dryland soybeans with 8% moisture. And high soybean yields are sporadic, depending on when the crop was planted and if fields were irrigated. He says the urgency of soybean harvest has interrupted corn harvest.

“If the crop was dry in the field, the drought and heat we had in the last two weeks brought down the moisture and some people were behind in getting it out.”

Byrd says soybean harvest will continue through the end of October and corn harvest is about 75% complete on the farm.