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Harvest nearly finished for southeast Michigan farmer
An early harvest season helped the chair of the Michigan Soybean Committee make headway before fall rains.
Laurie Isley farms near Michigan’s Ohio border in Lenawee County. She tells Brownfield because August and early September were so dry, combines started to roll several weeks ahead of normal last month.
“Since the middle of September, we had just shy of ten inches of rain so we’ve definitely been working fits and starts,” she says.
Isley attributes their sandy soils and mix of cover crops for helping absorb most of the moisture. Soybean harvest is finished for their farm and about 400 acres remain of corn.
“Our soybean crop was a little bit below average, most likely because of the dry August weather but corn has been close to average and we’re very thankful for that,” she says.
Isley says soybeans have ranged from 13 to 11 percent moisture while corn is near 20 percent. The jump on the season has also allowed the farm to stock up on inputs for next year as this year has brought increased price and supply volatility.
