2013 Harvest Report: Harvesting Underway in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas

With this post, we begin the 2013 Harvest Report series from Case IH Combine Product Specialists from across North America. These product specialists are located in the field, close to the customers and dealers they support. They bring local, specialized product expertise, and go above and beyond to help Case IH customers Be Ready. We kick off the series with guest blogger Dan Renaud, Case IH Combine Product Specialist for customers and dealers in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Renaud has been with Case IH for 32 years, spending the last half of that as a Combine Product Specialist.

Harvest has begun in my territory, but like the rest of the year, things are running behind by a couple of weeks across the entire area I serve.

South Texas is pretty much done with corn, milo and rice, getting an average yield. In southwest Texas, we’re seeing very dry conditions. In Oklahoma, producers have received adequate moisture in many areas, and crops are looking good. They’ve begun milo harvest, with initial yields between 100-150+ bushels/acre, and corn harvest also is underway. In central Oklahoma, corn yields are in the 130-160+ bushel/acre range. I’ve been getting good reports on the Kansas corn harvest—fields are yielding in the 170-250 bushels/acre range in some areas. Soybeans are not quite ready yet. If it rains a little more, it will be a good crop in that area.

The Texas Panhandle hasn’t started harvesting yet. They irrigate a lot in that area, so their crops are still behind.

Depending on when the crop was planted, those growers who are still waiting to harvest are getting their equipment prepped and ready to go.

Throughout the summer, we’d been having timely rains, up until the last three weeks. There’s a lot of irrigation done in my territory, and those farmers are about to reach their limit on how much water they can use for the season. We’re hoping Mother Nature will help us out here at the end of the season. Weather’s been across the board all summer in different areas of my territory — some places have been too cold, some too hot. Some places have received too much rain, and others, not enough.

Overall, the crop conditions are good, from the different customers I’ve talked with. They’re looking at harvesting a solid crop. Growers’ attitudes are very good, in spite of the challenging weather. They’re getting excited and trying not to jump the gun. This is what they’ve waited for all year.

A farmer scopes out the new Case IH 3162 combine header at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, Neb.

This past week I was at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, Neb. Producers’ attitudes were extremely upbeat, and they were looking at the new products and technology. They were asking for additional information and tips or tricks to help them harvest more of what they grow.

From an Agronomic Design^SM standpoint, it all starts with a combine. If crops aren’t harvested properly, by reducing the amount of field losses and ensuring consistent and even spread of residue, it makes the whole process difficult. The way that Case IH Axial-Flow® combines operate provides that starting point. Despite the various challenges growers face — wind, soil conditions, climate, etc., farmers do what they have to in order to maintain proper residue to soil coverage.