'Go get it!' Farmer happy with results of spring corn harvest

Mar 10, 2020 at 08:21 AM CST
Larry Richard remembers when he used to listen to experts recommend farmers make heroic efforts to get it out of the field and not risk winter harvest losses. “That was old school, when corn varieties weren’t as good as they are today,” Richard says, happily harvesting corn in the snow near Fargo, N.D. Nearly half of North Dakota’s corn crop was left in the field last fall. Richard, 66, had 960 corn acres. Last fall, he harvested 100 acres to fill a contract but started harvesting the balance of 860 acres Tuesday, March 3. He was motoring through 17- to 18-inch snowbanks in a 75-acre field. He decided to wait a few days and let it melt down some more.

Mar 10, 2020 at 08:21 AM CST

Larry Richard remembers when he used to listen to experts recommend farmers make heroic efforts to get it out of the field and not risk winter harvest losses. “That was old school, when corn varieties weren’t as good as they are today,” Richard says, happily harvesting corn in the snow near Fargo, N.D. Nearly half of North Dakota’s corn crop was left in the field last fall. Richard, 66, had 960 corn acres. Last fall, he harvested 100 acres to fill a contract but started harvesting the balance of 860 acres Tuesday, March 3. He was motoring through 17- to 18-inch snowbanks in a 75-acre field. He decided to wait a few days and let it melt down some more.