OMAHA (DTN) -- We've received some good response to our plea for local harvest stories from readers. We want to thank you all for that, although we realize some of you had time to contact us simply because you're not going great guns on the combine just yet.

Let's start with some good news. Charlie from Whiteside County, Ill., emailed that early yields are good. One field had a high of 200 bushels per acre and the low was 90 bushels per acre, for an average of 181 bpa. Soybeans on dryland sand ran 61 bpa and others in Charlie's area are reporting better-than-expected bean yields. He says around Morrison, Ill., a farmer reported 185 bpa, but was disappointed it wasn't 200 bpa. "Our crops are good, not excellent," Charlie wrote, "but pretty good. Looks like beans will be good."

Good-looking beans were also reported by Carl in Renner, S.D., via email. Here's what he wrote: "I farm in central Minnehaha County in South Dakota. I have been harvesting some Group 1 Variety. They are averaging 10% moisture. Test weight 58.7 lbs. The yield has averaged 62 bushels per acre. Harvest conditions have been perfect -- 72 degrees, low humidity."

And another report of decent soybean harvest from west-central Minnesota came to us in a text: "On our farm we have harvested 900 acres of beans. Yields are as expected: from 45 to 53 bpa. We are in the good part of the county. Most beans will be 25 bpa or less. Corn is still 25% to 35% moisture. Very little harvest yet on corn."

Steve from western Lenawee County in Michigan has been in the field and took the time to email us. He reports that Friday, Sept. 23, he ran 80 acres of corn that came in at 14.2% moisture and that were 20 bushels below average yields.

The beans Steve saw went 32 bushels per acre with a "lot of two-bean pods; not any four-bean pods like last year," he wrote. Steve will run corn again this week if it stops raining. He notes that the corn seems further along than most of the soybean fields, but he "wanted to get some of that cheap wheat planted! LOL."

Steve is lucky he can laugh; some of our readers aren't finding a lot of humor in this strange growing season we've had. Bill from Ohio emailed us the following:

"Wanted to pass along how wet Ohio is. Hearing a few stories of corn trying to sprout on the ear. These new Bt hybrids seem to keep ears upright longer and water runs right in them."

Too much moisture, as we all know, was the predominant problem in some areas of the Corn Belt this year. And too little moisture was a problem in other areas. We received the following Facebook post from John in McHenry County, Ill.

"Well Cheri, the only harvesting going on in McHenry County, Ill., is rain collecting in drainage tiles. We received nearly 3.5 inches of rain today (Monday). Where was this rain in July? Be safe everyone."

That sentiment about rain in July was echoed in a phone call from a reader 45 miles south of South Bend, Ind. He reported that from a 60-acre rolling field, the yield monitor said 28% moisture and 13 bushels per acre on the higher ground. The yield went to 216 bpa in the same field. On a dry basis, this field may get 120 bpa, he told DTN Senior Meteorologist Bryce Anderson. And it's raining there, logging 5 inches in the last three days.

Producers are not the only ones watching those yield monitors. We received the following text message from an insurance agency in Chatsworth, Ill. "Insureds reporting corn yields from 60 to 150 bpa on most fields, some even lower and very few better. Beans 35 to 50."

A New Jersey farmer who owns land in central Illinois reports the following via email: "I'm just back from a quick trip to Iowa. Not much has been harvested yet in the areas I travelled (Des Moines, Winterset, Creston, Oskaloosa). My source In Illinois says they are well into harvest with corn a disappointment --- 135 to 160 bpa on land that could grow 200+ if they got rain. "

To wrap up this installment of your harvest reports, Tim from Ontario called and said he thinks border Corn Belt states such as Kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee losing 50% of their corn crop due to dry field conditions could have a bigger effect on the overall crop size than people realized.

Locally, Tim said Ontario could have a "tremendous" soybean crop. There was a wet spring and he did not plant some beans until mid-June, but they received timely rains and some of the early yield reports are very good. Tim will probably start to harvest next week.

Corn will be variable across Ontario, Tim said, as some areas received timely rains and other areas did not. As with soybeans, an extremely wet spring delayed corn planting and Tim was still planting corn the first few days of June. He believes some of the later-planted corn and soybeans will actually yield better than the earlier-planted crops. He estimated corn yields on the higher end in the province could yield 180 to 200 bpa while the lower yielding corn could be in the 130-to-140-bpa range.

It's a busy time of year for you and we know that. But, if you can find a few minutes between truckloads or while you wolf down that sandwich, we'd love it if you would let us know what you are finding in your fields.

We can be reached by email at talk@telventdtn.com or any of our individual email addresses. Mine is cheri.zagurski@telventdtn.com. You can also text me at 402-301-8732 or Bryce Anderson 402-594-4248. Voicemail messages can be left at those numbers, too, or you can call 800-369-7675. That number rings right in the newsroom. On Twitter, you can send me a message. I'm @cherizagurski. Or feel free to message any of our Tweeters. DTN also has a Facebook page, DTN/The Progressive Farmer. You can post a message on our wall. http://www.facebook.com/…

Tell us where you farm and any items of note you're finding as you start the combine. Yields, moisture levels, unusual damage. Anything. We'll gather these comments into regular updates for our readers. Check the home page of www.dtnpf.com or www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com regularly for new information.

We hope to hear from you. Here's to a safe, speedy and prosperous harvest.

Cheri Zagurski can be contacted at cheri.zagurski@telventdtn.com

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