The fall harvest begins Farmers feel optimistic about corn, soybean yields

SALINE COUNTY - It's a hot, dry afternoon as an enormous green John Deere combine makes its way through a field of soybeans, turned brown and ready for harvest.

The combine's operator, Joe Bramlet of Eldorado, finally stops and climbs out of the machine while he waits for his stepson, Jaden Littlefield, to arrive with a semi tractor-trailer.

"I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to do this field today," Bramlet says, squinting in the sunlight. "We had all that wind, and it dried things out, but then we had that heavy fog this morning that wet everything down again. It was almost like getting a tenth of an inch of rain."

Temperatures hovering near 90 degrees and a light, steady breeze took care of the excess moisture from the fog, though.

Bramlet said he's cautiously optimistic about both corn and soybean yields this fall.

"A lot of times, you'll have great corn, and your beans won't be as good, or vice versa," he said. "I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this year yields look good for corn and beans, at least around here."

Bramlet said consistent rainfall during July and August have made his crops do well.

"Any time you're worried about your yard being too tall in August is a good thing for farmers," he said with a laugh.

After Littlefield arrives with the semi, Bramlet begins to load the beans from the combine.

Littlefield said while yields look good in the southern Illinois region, farmers elsewhere haven't been as fortunate.

In August, a storm system known as a derecho tore through Iowa, devastating more than 10 million acres of crops.

"We're not sure what kind of effect that will have on prices, but it will have some kind of impact," Littlefield said.

That effect may last more than one growing season, he said.

"I saw a lot of images of fields with all kinds of trash and debris in them, and that may make it difficult for those farmers next year," Littlefield said.

Meanwhile, though, it's time to concentrate on getting the crops out here, Littlefield said.

"We're going to be pretty busy for a while, which is a good thing," he said.