While most central Iowa farmers wait for fields to dry, seed corn crews cannot: seed corn must be harvested at maturity, whatever the weather, because of lodging, mould and the risk to future germination. "We were driving through water the other day in a field that was probably 2 feet deep in spots," said Sean Harmon of Harmon Ag in Ankeny.

Iowa averages 3.4 inches of rain in September, according to state climatologist Justin Glisan, but Des Moines had received 12.55 inches by 25 September, according to Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Harmon said it has rained almost every day since picking began early in the month.

His crew has switched from front-wheel-assist tractors pulling dump carts to higher-horsepower tracked tractors, and has not been stuck since. He expects more deep ripping this fall to break compaction and level ruts, helped by tillage radishes broadcast as a cover crop into the standing seed corn. When trucks cannot be loaded in the field, he coordinates with local police to load on roads. Autosteer does not work well in slick fields, he added, so driving the Oxbo picker takes both hands and both feet.

The Harmon family and its custom-harvest partner, Johnson Bros. Farm of Polk City, were hired by Bayer to pick 2,500 acres of DeKalb and Channel seed corn this year and had 900 acres left as of 24 September. The report was written by Matthew Wilde.

Photo: Bill Whittaker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: DTN / Progressive Farmer