Marion County farmers completed a better than average harvest this year.
Clinton-Marion County Farm Bureau Manager Brad Conant says while rainfall varied, overall it was sufficient for a good corn and soybean crop.
“Think overall the sentiment of the agriculture community in Marion County is pretty positive. There was a lot of uncertainty going into the harvest season with the weather pattern we had leading up to it, but overall soybean yields were fantastic from what I was hearing around the County. And Corn yield although not record breaking in most cases, they were pleasantly surprised with what they saw when the combines started rolling in.”
The dry conditions sped harvest, but have now thrown most of the county into severe drought conditions. However, the Saturday rains could help some with 79-hundredths of an inch recorded at the Salem Water Treatment Plant and 74-hundredths at the Centralia Water Treatment Plant.
While the harvest was plentiful, Conant says many farmers are holding onto their crops due to prices that are considerably lower than this time last year.
