EASTERN ONTARIO: Soybeans had a parched season but a soggy finish

MOIRA — Soybean harvest was mostly finished last month with yields better than expected and some bogged down by repeated rains.

Farmer Dale Ketcheson at Moira in Hastings County was one of the earliest to finish. He wrapped up his 125 acres of soybeans by late September. They came in yielding just above the farm average of 45 bushels/acre, which he wasn’t expecting given the dry season.

At Crysler, crop farmer Dennis Fife was about 60 per cent finished soybean harvest by Oct. 21. His soybeans were turning out much better than expected, with even the heavy ground yielding well. The lighter ground got dried out but was still yielding respectably, he said. A few fields might hit record yields but an overall record yield didn’t look likely.

Overall Eastern Ontario had cranked through about 70 per cent of soybean harvest by Oct. 26, said independent agronomist Gilles Quesnel, with most yields coming in slightly above average. “Which is pleasantly shocking, given the lack of moisture,” he said. Many farmers were seeing yields in the 55 bu/ac to 65 bu/ac range, though yields ran the full range from record to ruin.

That’s pretty close to the forecast from Great Lakes Grains, which called for an average yield of 61.2 bu/ac on Eastern Ontario soybeans. It was the most optimistic of three yield forecasts made this year. Statistics Canada was much more tepid, predicting an overall Ontario average of 46.1 bu/ac, and Farms.com was downright discouraging, predicting 44 bu/ac soybeans in Eastern Ontario and 38 bu/ac soybeans in Central Ontario.