Row by row, Chris Harrell is making progress through his cornfields near Carthage, Ill., — but not without a few headaches along the way.
A dozen rows have been left standing for the insurance adjuster to inspect, after down corn hit roughly 30 acres of Harrell’s crop. But that’s not the biggest factor weighing on this year’s yield. Relentless rain soaked the farm throughout the growing season.
“Locally, the yield is a little bit of a disappointment this year around, so far,” Harrell says. “Like I said, we’re tracking to be 15 to 20 bushel less than last year on corn.”
While corn has been a challenge this season, it’s a different story for soybeans. Harrell is about a quarter of the way through bean harvest, and so far, yields are running slightly above his five-year average.
A Season of Setbacks
In the spring, Harrell’s planters sat idle because of rain during Farm Journal’s visit. The challenges didn’t ease up as the season progressed — during Crop Tour, weather was still top of mind for the Carthage farmer.
“We were fairly wet in April and then June was terrible. We had seven plus inches of rain and August didn’t help. August did not help at all. We had another... seven inches there in like a three-day span in August,” Harrell explained.
Add in roughly ten days of cloudy weather in August, and Harrell believes the stretch hurt his corn’s grain fill — leaving this year’s crop holding more moisture than in years past.
Yields Down, But Costs Up Too
While corn yields are lagging, Chris’s father, Dave Harrell, is keeping perspective. “You know it could be worse, it’s about revenue at the end of the year,” Dave said.
That’s because rising input costs have added another layer of complexity to the season. “We contracted, I think, farm diesel at $2.60 or $2.70 in the spring, and, you know, it’s pushing $6. So it’s just part of it. You know, you’ve got the volatility is always going to be there. You just deal with it and try to manage your risk and go on,” Dave says.
Betting on the Board
For this father-son team, a strong market can make rolling through a tough season a lot easier. Lately, the board has been moving in a mostly positive direction.
“Overall, I would say I’d rather see, personally would rather see the five to $6 corn ranges on price than I would an extra 20 bushel on yield,” Chris says.
80 Years in the Field
As grain pours in from the combine, the swings in yield, weather, and markets are nothing new for one particular supervisor on the operation. 95-year-old Lawrence Harrell, who has farmed for roughly 80 years.
Asked how he feels about this year’s crop, Lawrence didn’t hesitate: “It’ll just be an average year, I think.”
It’s perspective built over eight decades in agriculture. “When I was a kid, I remember shucking corn by hand and then it went to big mounted corn pickers and then combines and then here we are now,” Lawrence says.
Now, with another harvest underway, one thing is clear: despite today’s technology, 2026 is proving that Mother Nature remains the biggest variable farmers have to manage.
This video was captured and edited by CJ Christy.
