Dryland Corn Ranges 10 to 130 Bushels as Rain Parks Over Harvest

Dryland corn yields have ranged from 10 to 40 bushels per acre this fall, with scattered spots reaching 130, as a stalled low-pressure system idled one High Plains harvesting crew for roughly a week.

The operation, chronicled by grower Sherry in the High Plains Journal's harvest series, had banked only a few days of corn picking before rain shut down combines in late October. Crews used the downtime for equipment repairs, then resumed picking before another round of rain moved in — a pattern Sherry called "the theme this fall."

How bad is the weather delay?

A low-pressure system parked directly over the crew's location, bringing rain day and night and winds gusting to 45 mph. The team rode out the storm in a camper that, at times, felt as if it needed to be tied down. The forecast improved after the system passed, but fields were expected to need another three to five days to dry before combines could roll again.

Patience is the operative word this season. Sherry wrote: "Patience is definitely being tested this fall!"

What are the yields showing?

Harvested dryland corn has been "all over the board," according to Sherry, spanning 10 to 40 bushels per acre with a few areas hitting 130. Irrigated circles have performed far better, yielding 130 to 160 bushels per acre.

Every field carries its own story this year, she noted — crews don't know what a field will produce until the header goes in.

In South Texas, where the family runs cotton harvest, early ginned-bale reports show yields of 1.5 to 2.25 bales per acre, with each bale weighing roughly 500 pounds of lint. Regional results continue to vary as the crop moves through gins.

What broke during the downtime?

Machinery has mostly run well, but two repairs ate up time over the past two weeks:

• Wailynn's front tire. Brian and Wailynn booted it twice; each repair held air for a day or two before failing again. The crew finally replaced the tire outright.
• Wyatt's feeder house chain. It went out and was replaced during the same stretch.

Crew members pitched in across the repairs. Wailynn blew off his machine and header; Brian, Wesson and Wyatt worked on Wyatt's header. Wyatt, who is allergic to harvest dust, wears an N95 mask whenever he services his machine.

What comes next?

The crew will watch the forecast, wait for fields to dry, and move as soon as conditions allow. As Sherry put it: "You work when you can and wait when you have to."