MOSSVILLE, Ill. — One could count Peoria County farmer Vern Schaffner among those anticipating a possible record harvest of both corn and soybeans. But like many of his colleagues, he’s wondering where it all is going to be stored.

"The corn is looking great, and the beans are as tall and healthy as I’ve ever seen them," said Schaffner, who has participated in his share of "boom" and "bust" harvests during many decades of farming. "It should be a large crop."

Grain elevators, in anticipation of a 2009-like harvest frenzy, have been gearing up for an anticipated avalanche of corn and beans by adding storage space and improving grain-drying facilities. At Bell Enterprises, which operates elevators in Deer Creek, Congerville, Mackinaw and Goodfield in central Illinois, large increases in storage and drying capacity have been made over the past five years, said Kim Craig, a grain merchandiser for the company.

"We’ve increased our storage capacity since 2009 by 1.8 million bushels, and we’ve added 3,000 bushels per hour in drying capacity. Considering all of our facilities, we have 22,000 or 23,000 bushels per hour of drying capacity," said Craig, adding he doesn’t expect lines at Bell elevators to be any longer than last year unless there is a large increase over the 230 bushels per acre of corn anticipated.

"We feel we are prepared, but if this crop comes in at, say, 270 bushels an acre instead of 230, then things may be different. If the harvest is what we are expecting, we are prepared."

Craig and Jeff Kaeb, assistant grain merchandiser for Grainland Cooperative, agree that drying the 2014 crop will be less of a challenge than in 2009, when many Illinois grain elevators experienced significant delays drying a large, moist corn crop.

"After the ‘09 season we beefed up our drying at all locations," said Kaeb, whose company operates north-central Illinois elevators in Eureka, El Paso and Secor, along with Minier and Armington in south-central Illinois. "We’re going to be able to dry it here in the north, no problem."

Farmers in south-central Illinois are also expecting a bumper crop this year; however, farmers from that area may find elevators’ drying capacity stretched a little more thin than those in the north, Kaeb cautioned. "We’ll probably ground pile in Armington."

Craig noted fundamental differences between the 2014 and 2009 crops ensure that drying problems will not be as severe this year. "The 2009 crop came in terribly wet and required a lot of drying. I think this (2014) crop has much healthier stalks, and the natural drying process in the field will occur a little quicker this year. It could dry down a little earlier," he said.

All in all, farmers shouldn’t be too concerned about backups at their local elevators, the central Illinois grain merchandisers concurred. "We’re going into harvest (with grain bins) completely empty. Even if yields are 10 bushels more than the 230 we’re anticipating, we can still fit it in," Kaeb assured growers.

"There will be lines at times at elevators, but I think they will be managed better than before," Craig said.

The USDA is predicting the national corn harvest will exceed 14 billion bushels, greatly surpassing the 2013 harvest. In Illinois, USDA estimated corn at 5 percent mature as of Sept. 8, down from the five-year average of 24 percent. This could indicate a later harvest period for many of the state’s farmers.