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Key word at harvest: “variability”

Many farmers are encountering outcomes of wide-ranging growing conditions as harvest progresses.

Iowa State University Extension ag engineer Tony Mensing says the key word is “variable.”

“Variable yields, variable moisture, variable standability, just lots of variability from field to field as well as within the field itself.”

He tells Brownfield that’s very evident in soybeans.

“Within fields there will be some really green stem soybeans yet, as well as some that are fully dried down. And getting your combine set to be able to be able to deal with that wide cross-section of what you’re trying to run through is a challenge.”

Mensing says farmers should strive to harvest at a constant flow, but the variability in the field is making that very difficult.