Crop Report

Anyone have information on how many crops are left in the West-Central and SW part of the state? I hunted near Paynesville last Thursday and the combines were out everywhere. Most of the corn was still standing in the area. I only saw one bird in 4 hours of walking on 3 public lands. He tasted good too. My cousins farm in the Willmar area and they have been working 16 hour days to get the crops out. They are halfway done, so I’m looking forward to walking the ditches this weekend along the fresh picked fields. I love hunting those first year birds that spent their whole lives in corn and then are forced to seek shelter in the few areas of cover left. (On a side note: Last year I spent a few hours in the combine with my cousin and it is hysterical watching deer and pheasants blasting out of the corn infront of the combine only to circle right around and get back in. Usually they’ll just keep doing it until the last row comes out.)

I was riding in the combine just this past Sunday evening. All of the farmers in the Sherburn area are balls to the wall picking corn. I’d guess that by this weekend that 75+% of the corn will be harvested in that area.

I to have been having a hard time finding birds. I’ll be deer hunting the next few weekends and then back to the birds starting Thanksgiving weekend.

I was in windom last week and most of the corn was still up. The problem is the high moisture content and the cost of running dryers., but I expect they,ll be going full tilt boogie now regardless. I actually saw more deer than I did birds,

Allot of corn is standing as of today, and with the rain, it still will be.