The combines are rolling this week across Iowa as farmers have had some great weather conditions for harvesting fields.
Southwest Iowa grower Jeff Jorgenson farms near Sidney in Fremont County. He?s also the president of the Iowa Soybean Association?s Board of Directors. Jorgenson says there has been rapid soybean harvest progress over the last week in his area.
?We just got into this week where things are kind of working the right way,? Jorgenson said. ?Last week, there was a lot of guys that were kind of jumping from field to field trying to find some soybeans that would work. This week, it looks like a lot of beans are going to work and I think it?s going to be that way for the next couple of weeks.?
?Our corn is still fairly wet for southwest Iowa,? he continued. ?I think we all like to have our corn pretty dry before we start into it. It?s still running around that 20 percent moisture so we?re not there, but the beans are ready. You have to get them all anyway, so I guess that?s where we?re at.?
Jorgenson looks back on the up and down growing season which saw record planting in the spring, followed by extreme drought in the late summer.
?We really went through the spring in great shape,? Jorgenson said. ?I would have told you in mid-July to late-July that it was going to be a record crop. August dried out and we had a drawback in the yield because of that dryness in August. I think a lot of folks had the same. It?s a good crop, not exceptional, but it?s pretty good.?
Jorgenson noted that his area avoided crop damage from the August 10th derecho that swept through the state. The storm?s path stayed well north of Fremont County.
A video feature with Jorgenson can be viewed below.
https://www.facebook.com/IowaAgRadio/posts/3166440610120071
