By DEBORAH BEHRENDS
Illinois Correspondent

DEKALB, Ill. — Farmers in Illinois have to go back to 1967 to find a later corn harvest than the one they’re experiencing this year.

According to statistics from the USDA National Agricultural Statistic Service’s (NASS) Illinois Field Office, provided by Jeff Squibb, by the fourth week of October, 14 percent of the corn in the state had been harvested. By the same time in 1967, only 11 percent had been picked.

“The soybean harvest has never been this slow. Thirty-three percent of the crop has been harvested thus far, the lowest figure on record for this date,” Squibb said.

As of the first week of November, the return of warmer, drier weather finally allowed producers to make some progress on the harvest. According to a summary from the NASS, producers made progress on soybeans, with about 69 percent harvested statewide. About 31 percent of the corn has been picked.
Harvest safety

With the harvest being so late, producers are spending longer hours in the fields. DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott, together with DeKalb County Farm Bureau officials, conducted a press conference recently to caution motorists.

“We all recognize that this is a potentially dangerous situation,” Scott said. “Wherever you go, the farmers are going to be out there. This isn’t just DeKalb County. This is statewide.”
“We do try to avoid peak hours when motorists are on the road,” said DeKalb farmer Ray Heinisch. “But we have to move from field to field. We’re asking people to be patient, slow down and be prepared to act and react accordingly.”

Scott said, on average, of five accidents per year occur involving motorists and farm machinery. “We don’t want this to be an extraordinary year where that number jumps up,” he added.

Propane shortage

With the late, wet harvest comes need to dry grain to safe storage levels. Producers are now facing a shortage of liquid propane (LP). State Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley) is calling on Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Agriculture Director Tom Jennings for assistance.
“The grain harvest is roughly 50 percent wetter than normal, and harvest has been delayed, so farmers are competing with homeowners for available LP supplies,” Pritchard said.

As a result, distribution centers in central and northern Illinois are empty and suppliers are rationing whatever supply they get.
“There is not a shortage of LP gas, just a distribution problem,” he said. “Distribution terminals cannot refill their storage quickly enough through the normal pipeline system to meet the nearly 50 percent increase in farmer demand for LP.”

Sycamore farmer and DeKalb County Farm Bureau President Paul Rasmussen said he knows several producers who have had to slow their harvest because they can’t run their grain dryers as long as needed.

Pritchard said trucks are traveling to Wisconsin and St. Louis to get loads, but drivers can’t make the round trip in the time allowed by trucking laws. So, he is asking Quinn to suspend restrictions on hours of service for truck drivers to deliver propane. (Iowa Gov. Chet Culver did something similar earlier this month.)

Pritchard also called on homeowners to be understanding about the LP rationing, and asked them to lower their thermostats a few degrees to conserve fuel.