‘Some of the best ever’ yields for west-central

West central Missouri farmer Mike Schreiman said harvest is progressing quickly and yields have been impressive so far. He farms in Lafayette and Saline counties, and he said his crops got enough rain to produce some very good yields.

“We’re pretty fortunate,” Schreiman said. “We’re well above average. It’s probably some of the best I’ve ever raised.”

Clear weather this fall has allowed farmers plenty of time in the field, although the quick pace of harvest has led to some logistical backlog bringing the crops in. Many farmers this fall have reported long lines unloading crops at grain elevators or some elevators unable to take more crops until they get rid of some of what they have.

“Storage is tight at the elevator,” Schreiman said.

Still, speaking on Oct. 15, he said harvest continues to roll along.

“We’re done with corn,” he said. “Probably by the end of the day we’ll be two-thirds done on beans. We’ve got some double-crop beans that’ll need more time.”

Schreiman said it was an early start to harvest, and he is further along than he usually is for mid-October, thanks to the dry weather and lack of rain delays.

“We started shelling corn Sept. 3,” he said. “We’re way ahead of schedule. We’re normally just finishing up corn by now.”

While the dry fall has allowed for lots of time in the field harvesting, Schreiman said he would take a rain to help replenish soil moisture, as well as to help the freshly planted winter wheat.

“We’d sure take a rain,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of wheat sowed.”