crop damage
Farmers in Muskingum and Coshocton counties are having issues harvesting their crops.

With the consistently wet weather, some farmers are still in the process of harvesting their produce, particularly soybeans.

"Normally Thanksgiving is late, but with all this moisture, we haven't been able to get it done," said Eric Reed, who works at Bell Farms in Muskingum County.

"This is by far the latest we've ever been still harvesting," said Tyler Basham, who grows corn and soybeans in New Concord. "It's been so wet, we haven't been able to get them."

Basham has finished his corn harvest, but is only 75 percent done with his soybeans.

"It's been touch and go getting into the field. A bit here, a bit there," he said. "We've really only had one good week back in October to run beans."

Because of the rain and mud, Basham said he has been working through the night and early in the morning when the ground is more frozen.

"It's still not completely solid, but it's better than it is during the day," he said.

"If we could get a hard freeze and get the ground hard, it would benefit everyone," Reed said, who expects to finish harvesting the remaining 100 acres of soybeans at Bell Farms by the end of the week, barring any dramatic change in the weather.

Because of the prolonged harvest and the muddy conditions, fall tillage has been delayed, Reed said, which could impact next year's growing season as well.

"There's work that needs to be done in the fields," he said. "There's ruts, and trucks are getting stuck."


With the moisture in the air and the lack of sunshine, the soybean crops have not had a chance to dry off as they normally do.

Beans have to be between 13 and 14 percent moisture to be stored in grain elevators, said Tom Graham, who operates Oaklawn Farms, which overlaps Muskingum, Coshocton and Licking counties.

"There's some storage that aren't taking beans because they're too wet," Basham said. "Some elevators are taking wetter beans, but the options are limited, and I may have to go to Columbus or farther out of the local area to store them."

Without the sun to naturally dry the beans, some have had to result to artificial drying and alternative storage options.

Bell Farms converted one of its barns into a flat storage shed to house the beans until they can go to market, Reed said.

Meanwhile, beans continue to sit in the fields as the poor weather continues.

"The longer it stays out there, the quality decreases," said Basham, who is concerned about the beans getting moldy.

Because of the moisture and humidity this season, 2018 was also "the perfect year for any and all fungal diseases known to exist," Bill McDonald, director of agronomic services at Seed Consultants, Inc wrote in a pamphlet for crop growers. Soybean crops could be subject to a variety of diseases that can cause mold, seed decay and blight.

"I've seen a lot of pods that are splitting open, and while they're not shattering, moisture is getting in the pod, and the beans are actually starting to sprout," he said. "That can cause a lot of damage when they do finally get them in a grain elevator."

Graham has already lost approximately 20 bushels, a third of his soybean yield, as his pods begin opening up and dropping in the fields. At approximately $8 a bushel, that's $160 gone.

Basham has also lost part of his yield, though he will not know how much for sure until he goes to market.

Lower quantities and lower qualities will likely hurt farmers when their beans go on sale.

"The biggest impact is the beans getting docked at the market because they were in the fields so long," Reed said.

"There's bugs, there's dust; the longer they're in there, the more problems there are."