Now that Effingham County is in a drought, rapidly drying crops have farmers concerned about the dangerous fire risk they pose as harvesting begins.
That danger was realized Wednesday afternoon when a combine caught fire in a field on 500th Street between 1300th and 1400th avenues near Altamont. According to Altamont Fire Chief Jon Becker, the operator began seeing error messages on the screen, was able to move away from the standing corn, and get out in time.
“When he got out, it was pretty heavily involved in fire in the back,” he said.
The fire spread south and east in a harvested corn field, but with the assistance of area farmers discing around the perimeter and deployment of a brush truck, it was contained, consuming no more than an acre or two, according to Becker. Firefighting efforts were directed to the combine, which was a total loss.
With the potential for more fires, Becker noted the fire district is well-connected with locals in the agriculture industry.
“If something happens, we’ve been fortunate enough to have farmers calling us wanting to help,” he said.
The risk of a fire had Roy Wendte very concerned as he operated his combine Friday afternoon in one of his fields near Lake Sara.
“We blow our combine off with a leaf blower periodically throughout the day just so there isn’t a buildup of dry matter in sensitive areas. It can get hot and start fires. So, we’re very conscious of that,” he said.
The quickly drying crops forced the long-time farmer to begin harvesting a few days ahead of the regular schedule. While earlier-planted corn had a chance to finish maturing, later-planted soybeans are where Wendte expects yields to be significantly lower.
Forced maturity has Alex Hartke, whose farmstead is five miles southeast of Teutopolis, still waiting to harvest as the grain itself is too wet. Hartke, along with his grandfather, father, and brother, farms about 900 acres.
“In a regular year, your plant takes moisture out of the grain as it matures and dries the grain down. This year, with the crop dying and being forced to mature early, that plant did not take the moisture out of the grain. So, we’ve actually been waiting to harvest to get the grain to a point that we can harvest it and dry it in good condition,” he explained.
Hartke estimates the test weight of both their corn and soybeans will be light because of the forced maturity, especially soybeans, since they are dependent on August rain.
“I think soybeans will take the beating. I’m guessing we’ll have 60 bushels of soybeans. We normally have 80 to 100 bushels, especially around the homeplace here,” he said.
Hartke is also concerned about their double-crop soybeans, which were planted behind wheat.
“We’re really needing this rain to come in so they make something. I’m hopeful that they can make 30 bushels of beans. In a regular year, they should make more like 50-60,” he said.
But like Wendte, Hartke said conditions are similar to last year when a dry spell caused corn to die early. Because of that, he noted brittle stocks can lead to downed corn in the event of strong winds.
With no measurable rain since the end of July, Hartke is interested to see what happens in the days ahead as rain is forecasted.
“We couldn’t buy rain around here. Every time we had a system come through, it split and went around us or disappeared altogether. We’d get a couple drops here and there and that would be it,” he said.
The National Weather Service has only recorded traces of rain throughout the county in the last month. That’s well below normal for August, which has an average rainfall of 3.32 inches. September’s average is nearly 3 inches. NWS Meteorologist Chris Geelhart estimates the current conditions are within the top five driest on record for that time period.
Accompanying the lack of precipitation have been above-normal temperatures. The combination has helped speed the drying process of crops and placed Effingham County, as well as the region, into a moderate drought. The classification indicates that crops and pastures are experiencing stress, trees are losing leaves earlier than usual, lawns are becoming dormant, and wildlife may venture into areas they usually wouldn’t to find food.
Some relief may be on the way. A little rain is forecasted into the weekend, with the potential for more, as much as a couple of inches, over the next seven days. It isn’t enough to bring the area out of drought, however.
“I think it’s probably going to take several inches,” said Geelhart.
Geelhart added it would be better if the rain fell gradually over a period of time rather than hard and fast.
“If you get all 2 inches at once, given how hard the ground is, then you’re going to have a lot of that running off like it was falling onto concrete,” he said.
Geelhart also cautioned that any potential for rainfall will be affected by the drought.
“A lot of times, when you have drought conditions, there’s not much moisture available for these storm systems to work with, so you’ll see some fluctuation in the forecast for how much rain is going to fall,” he said.
Looking further ahead, Geelhart said temperatures look to be above normal but not quite as much.
“Temperatures are gradually going to be backing off. We’re still looking at highs in the 80s through Tuesday. After that, highs in the upper 70s, which is about where it should be this time of year. The 90s are probably behind us now,” he said.
Further out, October temperatures look to be about normal, while precipitation looks below normal.
For now, Hartke, who began farming full-time in 2021, believes this is one of the highest years for fire risk that he can remember. He said they make sure to have fire extinguishers located on equipment and a tillage tool hooked and ready to go in case of a fire, to keep it contained.
“Because the goal at the end of the day for all the farmers, farmhands, elevator workers, and everyone else is that we get this crop in and we all go home at night to our families,” he said.
Hartke is urging farmers and motorists to be extra-cautious on roadways as harvest gets underway, especially with the increased chances for blowing dust.
“For everyone out there on the roadways this fall, just hopefully they’re patient and remember that whoever is in the cab is someone’s mother, father, brother or sister.”