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Nebraska farmer says this fall is ‘as dry as I can remember’

Extremely dry conditions in the Plains states and Western Corn Belt continue to be a concern.

“It’s as dry as I remember for quite a while, here in the fall,” says Joel Grams, who farms near Minden in south-central Nebraska. “We usually have one or two breaks during harvest due to weather and we just haven’t had any.

“I had to plant some cover crop after some seed corn got harvested and I had to run the pivots around on that. It’s really dry in this area.”

Thanks to irrigation, Grams says they have seen some excellent yields.

“Upper 60’s to lower 70’s (on soybeans)—mid-70’s on one field, I guess.”

Irrigated corn yields have been averaging around 240 bushels per acre.  Grams says they should be done with corn harvest next week.

But concerns about the extreme dryness linger.

“We’re going to need some moisture here sometime soon,” Grams says. “I like rain—it’s a heck of a lot easier to move than snow. But I guess, at this point, we’ll take whatever we can get.”