The 2025 corn harvest definitely is a late one in the Yuma and surrounding areas.
Lisa Hageman, grain originator with CHS in Yuma said irrigated corn harvest is just getting going. She noted the dryland still is being harvested when it normally is completed in October.
“We’re having trouble getting it to dry down,” Hageman said. “Those late season rains kept things wetter than we’re used to.”
However, harvest finally is picking up momentum as warm and dry conditions have led to increased activity.
Enough dryland has been picked for Hageman to report most fields are between 75-100 bushel per acre, and test weights have been in the high 50s.
As usual, there are areas that sustained hail damage, but in a lot of cases it was not enough to be zeroed out.
Rob Barr with Stratton Equity Co-op in Kirk said he has heard reports in which farmers pretty let those fields go, but the yields ended up being better than expected. Barr said the Kirk facility has been receiving corn since late September, but it has been slow going.
“It’s been a weird harvest,” he said. “Some still are waiting for it to dry down.
Some dryland in that area has yielded 100 to 140 bushel per acre with test weights averaged 58 pounds. Irrigated that has come in is yielding well above 200 bushels acres, with some reports of 280 bushels. Test weights also are in the upper 50s.
Kayden Lorenzini with West Plains LLC said the Yuma area finally started ramping up this week. Test weights have been 57 to 61 pounds mostly, with a little higher moisture. He said it has been tough to get a strong sense of the yields for dryland and irrigated, thanks in large part to the many hailed-damaged fields.
“It’s been spotty for sure,” Lorenzini said. “It’s hard to pinpoint this year, it’s been kind of a weird year.”
The extended forecast calls for mostly warm and dry conditions over the next two weeks, allowing harvest to go full-steam ahead and possibly finish up before Thanksgiving.
“If we can keep this weather the way it is, we can get the bulk of it in over the next three weeks,” Hageman said.