Flooding earlier this month and back-to-back freezes last week haven’t done area crops any favors, although the situation could have been a lot worse.
Lyon County Extension ag agent Brian Rees says about 80 percent of the beans still in the field as of late last week had reached maturity, so they were unaffected by freezes Oct. 15 and 16. The rest? Well, pardon the pun but their progress got stopped cold.
That will result in drydown issues, and Rees anticipates some shattering as well with wet pods drying out. Rees says that is a major concern until the crop is harvested.
Field conditions are still either wet or muddy after residents received up to 16 inches of rain from Oct. 3-9. Rees says the late moisture may cause issues with crop quality with mold or staining, even though yields may be close to average to well above average.
Rees says farmers also have to watch for prussic acid, which can get trapped in plant tissues after a freeze. The acid typically dissipates within a week to 10 days, but it can be deadly for livestock until it’s gone.
