Though the colors of the fall harvest are late in coming to the trees, harvesting is ahead of schedule in south-central Indiana.
While local farmers said that’s good, they expressed concerns about the low prices for crops.
Harvesting is a little ahead of schedule compared to recent harvests, based on reported data, said Kris Medic, Purdue Extension Bartholomew County’s educator for agriculture, natural resources and community development.
"I would say we have had what I call good crop weather in the southern part of the state. The rains have held things up in the northern part of the state but things are going well in south-central Indiana," she said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Greg Matli, state statistician at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Indiana Great Lakes Division, confirmed that this year’s harvest is going well compared to previous years. As of Oct. 14, 51 percent of this year’s corn crop for grain has already harvested compared to 33 percent this time last year, and compared to the previous five-year average of 39 percent during the same time. Soybeans are 51 percent harvested, the same as last year, and slightly ahead of the five-year average of 49 percent.
Medic added that although her office goes on the information of crop production totals and other data used to gauge how the autumn harvest is going, the progress of the harvest can also be observed from watching the color of the fields.
"When you are driving around, you will see many fields of green now. Some of that is winter wheat, but most of the green is the color of the cover crops the farmers lay when they are finished harvesting," Medic said.
Cover crops are planted to preserve the soil in place after the yield crops are finished for the season, Medic said.
Harvesting different
Chris McKinney, of Hope, who farms land in northeast Bartholomew County near Decatur and Shelby counties said it has been a good year for his farm production, but remembers how harvest time used to be much different than it is today.
"It used to be three or four families chipped in and helped each other. You would move from farm to farm. It was great camaraderie," McKinney said.
"Now everything is very technical. It requires a lot of management. You always have to look ahead and be proactive. It is a business. You have to have hope and faith to make it happen, but at the same time you realize you only have so much control," he added.
Like many farmers, McKinney works another job to make ends meet. He drives a truck for the U.S. Postal Service and can take care of his harvest duties only after he returns from work at 2 p.m.. He has help from his son, Austin, and his dad, Jerry. His wife Jackie brings food to them while they work through the evening in the fields.
"I really can’t imagine doing anything else besides farming. It’s what I do. This is a bountiful harvest but it is not a good time for the farmers," McKinney said.
"This thing with the tariff problem and China is not friendly to the American farmers. Prices are really down. The way I see it, we are all in the same boat. Getting the tariff situation straightened out will help everyone in the future. American farmers have carried our nation on their backs before and we will do it again," he added.
Prices a problem
While production and yields are good, Jennings County farmer Matt Sporleder considers the situation a double-edged sword with problems.
A third-generation farmer, Sporleder farms about 200 acres himself and rents another 400 acres to other farmers. He said he has heard there are problems with some fungus in the corn crops and stink bugs in the soy crops, but said the biggest problem is crop price.
"Prices of corn and soybeans are down. They are drastically lower. Soybeans were around $10 a bushel last year and they are going under $8 this year," Sporleder said.
To supplement own income, Sporleder drives a school bus for the Jennings County School Corp. He also serves as an elected Jennings County commissioner.
"I continue farming because I love it. It is in my blood and I can’t imagine not farming, but it is going to be hard for you to find many happy farmers this year because of the lower prices," Sporleder said.
Fungus issue
Larry and Charlene Burbrink are Bartholomew County farmers near the lowlands of Jackson County, and they said they noticed problems with fungus in some of their corn crops.
"The corn stalks were weakened this year by excess moisture, even though we did apply fungicide. The high winds from a couple of storms caused a lot of corn to fall over, making it difficult to gather into the combine head. Field losses have been pretty high with some hybrids. Other hybrids withstood the winds and were harvested with great yields," Charlene Burbrink said.
Overall, she said their soybean and corn yield was good this year and, depending on the weather, they expect to be finished with their harvest by Nov. 1.
"The harvest is good this year with relatively high yields but the price of grain has gone down substantially. Politics and trade agreements have hurt the farmers very badly," Charlene Burbrink said.
"You know, when you hurt a farmer, you hurt a lot of other people: machinery sales, fertilizer and chemical sales, land values and everyone who partakes in our products," she added.
