Rain Could Stall Harvest, Exposing Corn and Soybeans to Disease

(KNSI) – The heavy rains expected this week can only hinder what’s left of harvest season, not help area farmers who have had to navigate again a tricky growing season defined by drought.

University of Minnesota Extension Educator Tyler Rice says a vast majority of our primary crops, corn and soybeans, are ready to be pulled from the fields. An October 8th report shows, “94% of corn statewide and over 97% of soybean statewide are physiologically mature.”

Most plants were ahead of schedule due to the dry spring and summer weather. Parts of Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns Counties are still in extreme drought, one of the worst possible classifications. Many farmers are already done for the year.

Rice says rains are not a huge problem for corn harvesting. Machines can be in the fields just days after the storms have come through. For soybeans, the plants need to dry out, or it affects the effectiveness of the threshers on the combines.

Still, Rice warns even a short delay could have negative effects. “We start seeing post physiological maturity, some diseases moving in… Gibberella ear rot with the kind of weather and climate conditions that we have in the fall, typically.”

Up to three inches are expected to fall between Thursday afternoon and Saturday. Cool, damp weather is expected into next week, affecting how long it takes to dry out afterward.

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