By BECKY MARTINEZ

bmartinez@crescent-news.com

The soybeans took a beating this year and the end result is below average yields.

"The bean itself is very small this year. The pods just did not fill as they normally would have with the lack of moisture they endured," said Jim Lopshire, agriculture educator with the Paulding County Ohio State University Extension Office.

Bruce Clevenger, agriculture educator with the Defiance County OSU Extension office remarked, "The beans are a little disappointing. For the most part, yields are slightly below average. They took the brunt of the dry weather -- a very dry July and August impacted their yield potential. The plant itself was generally shorter and the bean smaller."

On Friday, Lopshire said soybean harvest in Paulding County was about 60 percent complete. "Yields are very inconsistent. They're ranging from the upper teens to the mid-fifties (bushel per acre). The areas with higher yield of course had more rainfall. There were a couple areas which seemed to get a shower most of the summer," said Lopshire.

"The yield I'm hearing most often is mid-thirties," Lopshire added. Last year, Paulding County reported a 60/70 bushels per acre soybean harvest.

Defiance County's five year average is 41.1 bushels per acre; so far this year, the average is in the upper thirties to 40. "We're right at or slightly below the county average," said Clevenger. Last year's yields were in the 40-60 bushel range.

Greg Labarge, agriculture educator for the OSU Fulton County Extension Office reported they are making progress in this year's bean harvest. "From a yield standpoint, I'm hearing a lot in the 30/40 bushel (per acre) range. The later harvested crop is in the 40s." The five year average in Fulton County is 45.7 bushel per acre.

LaBarge continued, "We have a very wide range of yields. Just within one field, one person reported it yielded 17 in one area and in another, 70. Soil type played a large part."

Gerald Grain, with facilities in Napoleon, Liberty Center, Hamler, and Wauseon, reported Henry County soybean yields coming in at 30/35 bushels per acre. Their average for 2007 was about 45 bushel per acre, so they too are below average.

Corn is in the early stages of harvest.

"Some corn has been taken, but not a significant amount," reported Clevenger for Defiance County.

Some farmers are struggling with corn that went down from the high winds caused by Hurricane Ike in September, but nothing like producers in central and southwest Ohio. "It was nice we got rain. The strong winds we observed were far less than central and southwest Ohio received. Their corn really suffered.

"We have some fields that received some damage; they have fields that are flat," said Clevenger.

Damaged corn is a frustration for farmers as they move through the fields with their combines. "Field speed is significantly slower. It's a slow process to pick up downed corn; it's also a safety issue. Sometimes farmers have to interact with the machine to help guide the corn into it, or unplug the machine -- corn will not feed into the head normally so it may bunch up and get clogged," said Clevenger.

"Early indications are showing 160 bushel per acre," reported Lopshire in Paulding County. "If harvested, corn will probably be more consistent, better than the beans with yields higher than expected."

Lopshire said there are some problems with corn lodging, and some wind damage to the corn. "We've had a field or two harvested early because of this, but the damage is nothing like I've heard from other parts of the state. Still the problem will slow down harvest in those fields."

In Fulton County, LaBarge reported they have some fairly good corn. "Like the beans, we've had some areas that were good and others that suffered moisture loss."

As far as damaged corn, LaBarge said, "Generally the winds didn't break off the corn, it was broken above the ears so it's still standing. Some are harvesting their corn first and holding off on the soybeans."

According to representatives with Gerald Grain, Henry County isn't anticipating any problems with this year's corn harvest.

The good news in agriculture is with soybean harvest, wheat planting has begun. Clevenger, Lopshire, LaBarge, and Gerald Grain all reported they have a lot in the ground and some is already up.