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In most cases, yields better than expected

Visits with several growers in three states indicate that, to varying degrees, harvest is going well and yields are better than expected. Jay Schutte at Mexico, Missouri, located in the middle of the state, says mid-October is late to be at this point in the harvest.

Just the same, yields are a pleasant surprise for Jay, as they are for Kevin Hurst at Tarkio, in the northwestern corner of Missouri.

That’s not the case in southwestern Iowa, where Justin Dammann was cutting soybeans on marginal ground that endured drought. His yield monitor showed 28 bushels to the acre.

In Southeastern South Dakota, after one of his worst years last year, Jon Schaeffer, who finished combining soybeans last week, is pleased with this year’s yields; as high as 66 bushels to the acre.

A few miles from Schaeffer’s place, Eastern South Dakota Farmers Cooperative Elevator Manager Dave Bobzien, in Davis, South Dakota, is looking at a growing mountain of soybeans, partly due to better than expected yields.

AUDIO: Jay Schutte, Kevin Hurst, Justin Dammann, Jon Schaeffer, Dave Bobzien (3 min. MP3)

Photos top down: Jay Schutte, Mexico, Missouri; Kevin (left) and Blake Hurst, Tarkio, Missouri; Justin Dammann, southwestern Iowa; Jon Schaeffer, southeastern South Dakota; Dave Bobzien, Davis, South Dakota.