Corn harvests have banner year in 2011

By Karl Henkel | January 23, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Despite record-high precipitation, 2011 corn harvests were the third-most plentiful yield for Ohio farmers.

Ohio’s average corn yield is estimated at 158 bushels per acre, down 5 bushels from 2010, according to the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association.

Farmers faced many weather challenges in 2011.

“It was probably one of the wettest summers ever,” said Gary Carter, a local farmer from Knox Township in Columbiana County. “The ground was so soggy you couldn’t walk across it.”

Producers harvested 3.22 million acres for grain last year, compared with 3.27 million acres in 2010. Ohio’s total production of 508.8 million bushels was 5 percent less than the 2010 total.

Farmers dealt with waterlogged fields, thanks to record-high precipitation levels in the state, according to the National Weather Service.

This caused farmers to wait for brief dry bouts to plant.

Most recently, they experienced rainfall throughout the fall, hampering the harvesting process.

In many parts of the state, some farmers waited for the ground to freeze to complete their harvest, OCWG reported.

Some, such as Carter, still haven’t completed the harvesting process.

“As long as the ears [on the corn] are upside down, the husks on the ear act like a roof,” Carter said, describing how the corn can stay viable in winter months. He said during some harsh winters, he didn’t finish harvesting until May.

OCWG reported that biotechnology and machinery evolution helped to mitigate weather delays and make food, feed and fuel less costly, more abundant and more dependable.

“It’s remarkable that our growers accomplished what they did given the extreme conditions,” said Tadd Nicholson, the OCWG interim executive director.

The U.S. corn-for-grain production is estimated at 12.4 billion bushels, 1 percent less than 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The average U.S. yield for 2011 is estimated at 147.2 bushels per acre. Area harvested for grain is estimated at 84.0 million acres, an increase of 3 percent from 2010.