Harvest pace nationally is in line with the five-year averages for corn and soybean, but is lagging in the western corn belt due to the big crops and the weather. USDA’s crop progress report showed 47-percent of the corn is harvested in South Dakota, which is 10-percent behind normal. Soybean harvest is at 89-percent, which is also lagging by 4-percent. Elk Point farmer Doug Hanson says excess moisture delayed the planting season in southeastern South Dakota and the weather once again is making harvest a challenge.

Hanson says they didn’t finish planting soybeans until June 12, but are usually done by the first week of May. So the big soybean yields he’s harvesting are a bit of a surprise.

Corn planting was also late and Hanson says they had many drowned out spots that didn’t get planted. So again he’s pleasantly surprised with his production and expects corn yields to improve as the harvest progresses.

Nebraska and Iowa are also behind normal on corn and soybean harvest.