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Rain-perfect season sets stage for big harvest in southeast Kansas

Harvest season is ramping up in southeast Kansas, and an Elk County farmer says conditions have set his crop up for a breakout year.  

Ben Bellar tells Brownfield, “Honestly, I’ve got some of the best looking crops I’ve had in quite a few years. We’ve had just the perfect amount of rain around here. I’ve got double crop soybeans that are going to perform almost as good as first crop soybeans.”

He says corn harvest is about a week behind due to persistent wet conditions. Bellar says Labor Day is a good rule of thumb for when corn harvest should begin. “Yield has been very exceptional, very exceptional. Our test weight, we thought with the yield, we’d have a little bit better test weight, but test weights have been 56 to 58. That’s just perfect and great on corn.”

USDA says 10 percent of the corn crop has been harvested. Sixty-three is rated good-to-excellent.

Bellar says this could be one of his best soybeans crops ever even though it’s behind schedule. “Normally, we dry up and our beans dry out. This year everything is going to go full maturity. This year is going to be longer, but that is great.”

USDA says 39 percent of soybeans are dropping leaves, and 70 is rated good-to-excellent.