On The Farm: Fall Harvest Underway | Video

Rene Thibault | 9/27/2012

You can see the signs of fall all over. The leaves are changing color, the nights are getting colder and farmers are harvesting their late season crops.

Farmers were making their way to SunPrairie grain to drop of their truck loads of soybeans. The 2012 fall harvest is underway.

"We`re just digging into the soybeans here, so for they look average I`d say, and we`re happy with that. Like I said, based on the fact that we didn`t get a lot of moisture at the end of the year there, we`re pleasantly surprised," said Velva farmer Clint Gjellstad.

Dan Sem, aseed sales manager, says that the warm summer pushed up the fall harvest for beans, corn and sunflowers.

"Anytime you have a heat event or a warm summer like we`ve had that definitely pushes these crops. Sunflowers and soybeans aren`t so much heat driven like corn is, but just the fact that we`ve had a lot of day above 85 degrees over the summer is going to push a crop along naturally."

"We feel fortunate, didn`t get a lot of rain there the last couple months of the summer and I guess we`re happy that the crops are coming out nicely, I`d say average, and we`ll go from there," Gjellstad said.

With an earlier than normal harvest, the yields for fall crops will be down. But after drought conditions ravaged many producers, farmers in Ward County will most likely be happy with their outcomes.

"I think the guys overall in the Minot area and moving north are pretty happy with what they`re getting for yields out there," Sem said.

Learning to roll with the punches and working with the cards you`ve been dealt is the only thing you can do in the agricultural business.

"As many crops as we`re planting we can`t hit a homerun on every one, so we`re looking to hit base hits, first to second. Okay this one was good, this one wasn`t quite as good. Thats managing your risk. Being a little diversified," Sem said.

And a diversified farmer, is a more safe and successful one.

Most of the harvest should be complete by the end of October, but Sem says it just might carry into November.

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