Farmers share their harvest observations
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Combines continue to roll throughout U.S. corn fields.
About 9 percent of the total crop is in the bin as of Sept. 17, the USDA’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin says.
So, what are farmers saying about the 2023 harvest so far?
“I think it’s not going to be a bumper or a record yield but I think we’re going to be basically holding our own,” Steve Turner, a farmer from Cass and Morgan counties in Illinois, told The Center Square.
Illinois farmers have harvested about 6 percent of the state’s corn acres, the USDA reports.
Farmers in Minnesota have also harvested about 6 percent of their state’s corn acres.
Producers expect to see the effects of drought on their crop.
“There’ll be some pain out here for sure,” Dana Allen-Tulley, a dairy and cash crop farmer from Eyota, Minn., told the Star Tribune.
The entire state of Minnesota is affected by drought, the National Integrated Drought Information System says. And overall, 2023 has been the state’s 38th driest year to date in the past 129 years.
Farmers also took to social media to give their views on the 2023 harvest season.
Aaron Martinka, a farmer from Milam County, Texas, posted a harvest breakdown on X.
“This completes #harvest23,” he said on Sept. 24. “Wheat23 good Corn23 good Cotton23 good Onto ’24.”
In total, Texas farmers have combined 68 percent of their corn crop, the USDA’s report says.