Farmers finally begin harvest season around Miami County
For soybeans, planting season starts in mid to late May. During this time, tractors dig into the
ground and plant soybean seeds and can also use liquid fertilizer to help the crops grow. Then when the
crops are planted, they grow from June to October, when harvesting starts. During harvest season, the
crops must be dry to be harvested, so if it rains and or snows, the crops cannot be harvested, as they
may not be cut correctly, and can impact the quality of the crop harvest. Trucks then carry the crop to
grain stations (called elevators) such as Kokomo Grain. The elevators take samples of the crop to test
quality. The quality of the crop affects the price that these elevators pay for the crop. Most farmers take
multiple truckloads to elevators a day. While there may only be one combine harvesting the crop at a
time, many people help get the job done as quickly as possible, such as someone running a grain cart.
Grain carts are trailer carts attached to tractors that hold the crop so the combine can keep going without
having to stop at the truck to unload the crop. Overall, some harvests can take from a few weeks to a
month or two depending on weather conditions and field sizes. If it’s very wet and rainy, it may take until
Thanksgiving or later to finish harvesting.
