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Harvest delays continue for Michigan farmer

A farmer in Michigan’s Thumb says harvest has been anything but easy this fall.

Carla Schultz says the wet weather has made it very difficult for her operation to even get started. “We are behind on soybeans and corn at this point,” she says. “We keep praying for some sunshine and dry weather, and we’re hoping that will come, but it will really impact the yields and quality of soybeans and corn they’re taking off.”

She tells Brownfield the longer harvest is delayed the more concerns she has about the quality of their corn and soybean crops. “At first, we thought it was very positive,” she says. “We were getting timely rains in the summer, but it didn’t shut off when it should have. So we’re talking about potential mold issues, vomitoxin issues in corn.”

Schultz says it isn’t all bad news, they do have all their dry beans harvested and their winter wheat planted.

The latest crop progress report says 24% of Michigan’s corn crop has been harvested, behind the five-year average of 30%, with 86% of the crop mature. Forty-three percent of the state’s expected soybean crop has been harvested, down from 53% on average.