Roller-coaster ride of a year creeps to a close

VENEDY, Ill. — For Eric Brammeier and many of his neighbors and other farmers throughout southwestern Illinois, June 30 was the day that saved the crop.

“It didn’t rain through May and June. On June 30, we were probably two days away from disaster on the corn yields,” Brammeier said.

When asked to describe the 2023 growing year in his part of southwest Illinois, in Washington County, Brammeier referenced a popular amusement park ride.

“I would say a roller-coaster ride fits pretty well,” he said.

On June 29 and 30, multiple rounds of severe storms passed through central and southern Illinois. Those storms brought damaging winds, tornadoes and rain.

“We had a derecho that went through St. Clair County, Washington County, Jefferson County, but June 30 was the day it finally rained. We caught a couple of inches and it saved our corn crop for the most part,” Brammeier said.

Like many farmers in his part of Illinois, Brammeier raises corn, soybeans and wheat. The soybeans are raised in two crops, the first planted in the early spring, the second crop planted when winter wheat is harvested, in June and July.

The dry spell in May and into June was the downward plunge on Brammeier’s roller-coaster ride.

“Once it started raining, the corn crop finished and I would say, depending on where it rained, you have average yields. Nothing great, not 200-bushel stuff, we’re pretty limited with that, but average yields. Soybeans caught some rain and the first-crop beans, in general, are average to above average,” he said.

Dry conditions did give farmers a chance to harvest their winter wheat and Illinois winter wheat yields posted records.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Illinois, the 2023-harvested winter wheat crop set a record 97 bushels to the acre average, topping the past two years, when the average yield each year was 79 bushels per acre.

“Our wheat yields, in general, were very good to excellent across the board. We harvested a lot of 90-plus, 100-bushel wheat,” Brammeier said.

“I didn’t think it would be that good, as dry as we were. But it held on and did really, really well. The numbers that came back during the Illinois Wheat Association tour bore themselves out pretty much.”

The double-crop beans suffered from a second extended drought in the region, in August and September, and Brammeier said the impact on yields is yet to be known.

“Some of those guys south of here, where it’s been much drier than where I’m at, some of those guys are poking around on some double crops that died because it was so dry,” he said.

“It didn’t rain in August and September and that’s where double-crop yields are going to suffer. We haven’t cut any of those yet, so we don’t know what those are going to be.

“Some guys are hoping for 50-bushel double crops, which would be excellent. Other guys are putting a 20-bushel number on it.”

Yields of corn and soybeans are reflecting the wild and wildly variable weather year.

“Yield-wise, I would call it below average for the guys who didn’t get rain and average for the guys who did,” Brammeier said.

As the roller-coaster coasts toward the end of the ride, Brammeier said the ride looks to end better than it started.

“Except for the price declines in the grain markets, I would say it’s a little better than expected,” he said.