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Grain storage issues spill into Western Corn Belt, Nebraska

A grain merchandiser says a slower-than-expected harvest has created storage problems for some farmers and elevators in the Great Plains.

Central Nebraska basked Matthew Burkey with Ag Valley Co-Op says corn has had issues drying down. “I know up in the Dakotas they’re piling corn and beans wherever they can pile it because they physically don’t have the space. In Nebraska, the shuttle loaders haven’t been able to move corn out of the way. Farmers have a lot of ways to store this corn to keep it off the market.”

Burkey tells Brownfield several farmers have turned to bags until prices improve. “The problem with that is anything that is in bags, most of these guys are going to want to move it by March. Then it’s going to feel like harvest part 2 in this part of the country because it’s the most corn I’ve seen in temporary bags in more than 10 years.”

He says he’s heard reports that farmers in northeast Nebraska are storing corn on the ground which could be problematic down the road.

Mathew Burkey: