What’s usually a rare sight this harvest season — a rain delay — briefly halted work for Ward and Bryant Hunter.
An inch of rain Sunday night was enough to pause the combines, but the father-son duo was soon back in the field, continuing a steady rhythm of harvest that’s been possible thanks to a remarkably dry fall.
“We started combining beans on Sept. 11 or 12,” says Ward Hunter. “We got started early, then had a week of rainy weather. And now the last 10 days or so we’ve been hard at it until the rain last night.”
When we visited the Hunters in the spring, dry weather pushed their Boone County farm to a record planting pace. Corn and soybeans both went in early, setting the stage for what looked like a blockbuster year. And while soybeans have lived up to expectations, the same can’t be said for corn.
“Beans — we have a lot of fields that are the best ever,” Ward says. “From mid-60s to mid-80s [bu. per acre], which is really good for this area. Corn, though, has been disappointing compared to what the beans were — real disappointing.”
Hunter says corn yields so far are averaging around 220 bu. per acre, roughly at their APH (actual production history). But that’s 30 bu. to 40 bu. below the past two years, when the farm hit the low 250s and 260s.
“Corn, though, has been disappointing compared to what the beans were — real disappointing.”
The reason, Hunter says, is simple: southern rust.
“By June 15, we really thought we’d have the best year ever,” Ward says. “Then southern rust hit — as you’ve heard from everybody — a lot of southern rust. We also got about 30" of rain from July 1 through about Aug. 10. The disease was the big kicker.”
Had it not been for the fast-moving fungal disease, Ward believes their corn could have hit record levels — perhaps 270 bu. per acre in central Iowa.
“You’ll see yields in beans go from 40 in the wet spots to over 100 on the yield monitor.”
His son, Bryant Hunter, remembers spotting the early signs as they were preparing to spray fungicide in mid-July.
“About the time we were getting ready to apply, we started seeing the rust,” Bryant says. “We were scouting to make sure it was the perfect time, and we caught it just as it was coming in.”
While the Hunters never skip a fungicide pass, Ward says those who tried to save on input costs this year likely paid the price.
“You only hear the horror stories, but some guys saw 50- or 60-bu. hits,” he says. “Some who did a second fungicide pass, even a generic one, saw another 20- or 30-bu. boost. This would’ve been the year to do two.”
As harvest continues, the Hunters expect about three more weeks in the field. The biggest takeaway this year? Extreme variability.
“You’ll see yields in beans go from 40 in the wet spots to over 100 on the yield monitor,” Ward says. “Corn will be the same way.”
Despite the disappointment in corn, soybeans have provided a bright spot — a rare balance in a year marked by weather extremes, crop disease and surprising outcomes.
“Soybean yields were a positive surprise,” Bryant says. “Corn yields were a negative one.”
For many Iowa farmers, that sums up 2025: a harvest of highs and lows, with southern rust turning what looked like a record-breaking season into a reminder that in farming, nothing is guaranteed.
