High-moisture, low test-weight corn is backlogging harvest for Wallie Hardie and his son Josh. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Hardie)

HADDONFIELD, N.J. (DTN) -- North Dakota farmers Wallie Hardie and his son Josh haven't given up hope that they can finish this year's corn harvest before a major blizzard hits. But with two early snowfalls logged in October, they know the race against winter is on.

"Usually we're finishing up now, but we've got at least a month of heavy harvesting ahead of us," Wallie said. That could match the latest completion date for harvest in his career -- Dec. 12, 2004.

Only 3 percent of the state's corn crop had been harvested at last count -- the slowest corn harvest among the 18 states tracked in USDA's weekly Crop Production report -- and far behind the state's 65 percent, five-year average.

The Fairmount, N.D., growers just harvested their first field of corn November 3. There's also 450 acres of soybeans they might not rescue if they get a heavy snow.

Yet, North Dakotans handle adversity like a badge of honor. First it was spring floods, then a June when they needed the furnace at night and a corn crop frozen in the milk stage October 10. Wallie remains hopeful that 2009 might still end well, both for yields and profits. But to make that happen the Hardies need dry weather to harvest all 4,000 acres they farm. Two thirds of it is corn this year.

Because the Hardies' corn had not reached the black-layer stage before frost, it's weighing in at about 51 pounds test weight, enough for some dockage, and 25 to 30 percent moisture. The first field yielded 150 bushels per acre, about 10 bushels below their ideal but nowhere near a disaster.

NIGHT WATCH

Wallie has parked his La-Z-Boy in the farm office's central command for the night shifts that will last most of the season. He monitors the grain dryer every two hours, keeping an eye on the truck dump outside with a remote camera, watching sports on another TV or catnapping. Normally their system dries 1,500 bushels of corn per hour at 22 percent moisture, enough to keep up with a 12-row combine. Because the wet crop cuts drying capacity in half, the dryer is running 24 hours a day and both men must take turns to monitor the process. Josh usually handles the 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. shift.

It may sound exhausting, but Wallie said he still gets an Adrenaline rush the first day of corn harvest. "I couldn't sleep that night, just thinking about it," he said with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas Eve.

He's finding that temperatures in the dryer can't exceed 200 degrees or kernels turn brown because the corn did not convert its sugar to starch. If more than 5 percent kernels are discolored, his elevator begins docking. Wallie shoots for 18 percent moisture on the dryer, then as the corn tumbles to 40 degrees inside the bin, it slips to 14 percent moisture.

There will be more damage to the corn, so they are screening fines (cob pieces, kernel fragments and dust) and delivering them to a cattle producer nearby. But their on-farm bins and grain dryer gives them a competitive position compared to those who rely on Mother Nature to dry crops in the field.

They were able to contract grain ahead for harvest delivery. Wallie estimates he's only spending about 30 cents per bushel to dry corn, versus about 60 cents in commercial storage. That's possible by buying liquid propane in 10-tanker volumes last July: they paid a $1.05 per gallon for fuel. Now, market prices run $1.25 and up.

WELCOME BACK, ETHANOL

By keeping input costs in line and forward contracting two-thirds of the crop close to his $4 cash objective before harvest, Wallie projects a profit. Basis in his area has been buoyed by the rebirth of the local ethanol industry. The 28-million-gallon North Country Ethanol plant in Rosholt, S.D. just eight miles away is back in business after bankruptcy.

Wallie, a farmer investor and member of the board, said it's making money paying today's $3.50 cash price for corn. A 110-million-gallon plant in Hankinson, N.D. -- about 10 miles away -- restarted in October. It had been sidelined after VeraSun's bankruptcy in October 2008 and reopened by new owner Murphy Oil.

Adding so much new demand for corn in their corner of the state greatly improves their sales options. To drum up business, the Hankinson plant charges no hedge to arrive fees for Dec. 2010 contracts, where local elevators charge 10 cents per bushel for the privilege, Josh said.

"Within 25 miles of us, we have a corn fructose plant and three ethanol plants, plus our elevators," he said. "In years like this with crop quality issues, growers can shop around for who docks the least."

PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR

The Hardies won't get much sleep until they finish this year's harvest, but they're already formulating what they can improve next year. For one thing, they've pre-ordered more 93-day hybrids, since the 96-99 day varieties are wetter and more problematic for drying.

Wallie has also resolved to automate more of his marketing. He's thinking of placing scale-up offers to sell cash December 2010 corn in predetermined increments, say 5,000 bushels at $4, and another 5,000 for each dime per bushel increase. Catching 2009's price waves at planting and harvest was hard, he said, since the two were usually busy doing something when the markets responded.

But input costs for 2010 will come down compared to 2009. Triple-stacked hybrids again are running under $200 per bag; anhydrous prices are about a third lower than what they paid last spring; and generic Roundup is running an incredible $8 per gal.

Now the Hardies just need a favorable weather forecast. "I never thought we would see leaving corn in the field and harvesting next spring," Josh said. It happened west and north of Fairmount in 2008, creating a logistical nightmare for growers come spring. If weather problems snowball, however, freeze-dried corn is an outcome they may have to confront.

Marcia Zarley Taylor can be reached at Marcia.taylor@dtn.com

(ES/KM)

© Copyright 2009 DTN. All rights reserved.