On the front end of things at CHS Grainland’s shuttle loading facility located northeast of Holyoke, producers are wrapping up the 2019 corn harvest and delivering some of their final truckloads of the season. — The Holyoke Enterprise | Johnson Publications
Corn goes in; corn goes out
Corn harvest is wrapping up, and it’s been something of a disappointing year for many local farmers. Estimating that it’s about 90%-95% finished at this point, Steve Young of CHS Grainland reported that yields are down about 10-15 bushels compared to last year. The cooler spring certainly had an impact, and conditions were generally not ideal. Much of what Young has seen this year has been in the 215-220 bushels range.
Though the corn dried down well, a fierce windstorm in mid-October caused some difficulties. Ears broken off meant greater field loss. Broken stalks made for especially slow progress in some fields, as they had to be harvested exclusively in one direction.
While farmers were getting the last of the corn out of their fields, CHS Grainland was making room for it. At its shuttle loading facility northeast of Holyoke, a train destined for Hereford, Texas, was loaded Nov. 13. When the facility was built just a few years ago, the company expected it would primarily be handling wheat.
It has, however, proven to be useful for corn as well. That’s good from a producer’s standpoint, Young said, because corn is sent to such places as Mexico, Texas and California, meaning there is less corn left in the local market.