Inconvenient weather over the past few months has contributed to what is set to be a difficult year for farmers in Monroe County and throughout Southern Illinois – though some are faring far better than others.

Gateway FS Grain Originator Michael Biethman once again provided a birds eye view of the area given what he’s heard from farmers throughout the fall harvest.

Reporting late last week, Biethman said most farmers in this area were well underway in clearing their fields, with especially dry weather at this point in the season providing ample opportunity to work.

His summary of harvest yields for Monroe County were less than positive, with many farmers reporting worse numbers than what was seen in 2024, itself a fairly subpar year in terms of profits.

Concerning corn, Biethman said he’s heard reports of yields being down 10-40 percent from last year, though the western part of the county has generally fared better with only a 10-15 percent difference.

He emphasized how well farmers in the Bottoms seem to have done compared to the rest of Monroe County, harvesting up to 200 bushels per acre while farmers to the east are gathering around 180 bushels per acre. Farmers in the Hecker and Millstadt areas, he said, are seeing numbers around 160 bushels per acre.

“The west side of Monroe County, the Bottoms, are the best, and then as you go east, the yield precipitously drops, and that is a function of the rain patterns,” Biethman said.

Biethman further said that, as a whole, Monroe County is faring far better than its neighbors in terms of the harvest, though it seems to be the best of a bad lot.

“Out of Gateway’s territory, Monroe County is probably the best yielding county that we have, closest to last year’s yields,” Biethman said.

Still on corn, he said test weight was slightly down from last year, remarking that rain in late July or August would have helped fill the kernels. He added the quality isn’t poor, but is down from last year.

Biethman further said farmers aren’t seeing much of any aflatoxin this year, further helping with corn quality.

Soybeans, he said, have largely followed the trends of corn.

Numbers he’s heard for beans have largely floated around 60 bushels per acre. Some have dipped down to 50 or 40, and he hasn’t heard many reports of 30 bushels per acre.

Likewise, soybean quality seems to be fair, though a lack of rain has resulted in some smaller beans than farmers would have hoped for.

Biethman stressed the difference in quality within Monroe County as one travels west to east, with folks in the Bottoms seeing a better harvest in no small part thanks to beating the rains in the spring.

“Obviously they have the best soil down there, but it’s more a function of when they got it planted. Early bird planting got the worm this year,” Biethman said. “Those are the best crops because they got the most water on them.”

On the market, Biethman simply acknowledged how unpredictable prices can be at this point in the harvest. He noted that a major elephant in the room is China, as that country has not purchased any American soybeans at this point in the year.

In 2024, China bought $12.6 billion worth of soybeans from the U.S.

He added the outlook is especially rough in this region of Illinois. With prices generally unfavorable for farmers, folks north of I-70 can at least enjoy a broadly better harvest than those to the south.

“Guys in our area this year are getting hit twice,” Biethman said. “We are getting hit with lower-than-average yields for sure, and the prices are not great. They haven’t been good for two years, two and a half years, and they’re not great this year.”

Biethman further remarked that those farmers soon harvesting their double-crop beans might well be making some insurance claims given how the harvest has gone so far.

He concluded his report saying that this will likely be a below break-even year for many should prices fail to rally any further.

Offering some personal perspective, John Niebreugge was able to voice some optimism for the season.

With acreage in both the west and east of the county, Niebruegge placed his focus on the impressive – even record – yields he’s seen in the Bottoms.

“We planted really, really early,” Niebreugge said. “We finished planting April 1 this year, so we jumped out ahead of everybody else. We got planting, we had dry sewing conditions and warm temps, and we went out early. Where most people had the worst planting conditions they said of their life, I had the absolute best.”

He further remarked on the area he was able to farm, making use this year of unprotected property in the Bottoms that is often overtaken by the river – though this year it provided him even more to harvest.

Niebreugge voiced hopes for prices to rally, though there is every possibility for them to go in the opposite direction.

“I don’t have too much to complain about,” Niebreugge said. “Yeah, prices could be higher, but we’re not losing money right now. I’m optimistic.”

Tyler Henry of the Monroe County Farm Bureau, who farms around Ames near Red Bud, had a less positive outlook, saying his harvest has been moving quick but corn yields are down significantly – around 30 percent.

His progress with soybeans has likewise been strong but yields are similarly disappointing, down about 10-20 percent.

He commented that farmers around Red Bud seem to really be getting the worst of it in this area.

“For the most part, everything’s fairly disappointing,” Henry said. “Prices aren’t much different than last year, but yields are definitely off for us.”

Jeremy Neff, farming around Hecker, was fairly positive even as yields were less than stellar for him.

He reported soybean yields around 50-70 bushels per acre, quite the surprise given he was expecting numbers closer to the 40s.

For corn, numbers have varied wildly. Neff reported harvests all around his property ranging from 120-190 bushels per acre, pointing to excess rain as an issue.

Neff said yields are decent for this year but bemoaned the prices he’s seen when it comes to inputs.

“I wish the prices were a little better,” Neff said. “Looking like this fall fertilizer isn’t coming down, that’s going up, and seed prices, same thing, they’re kinda staying flat.”

He added that for folks further to the west, they’ll likely be making some insurance claims when it comes to their double-crop beans and corn harvest.

Neff ultimately harkened back to a past comment he’s made about farmers having to prepare for a difficult year.

“It’s really time to start tightening that belt,” Neff said. “It might be time to start punching a few more holes in that belt to go a little tighter. It’s in survival mode now.”