Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

Local harvest looks good so far

By Nancy Allen
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

A farmer harvests soybeans in a field next to the Ohio bicentennial barn north of Celina on U.S. 127 on Tuesday afternoon. So far, recent yields have been better than expected, according to a local ag official.

Recent yields of soybeans and corn have been better than expected, considering the drought-like conditions during the growing season.
"The first soybeans I saw came off last week and the first corn I saw was this week," said Mercer County OSU Extension Agent Todd Mangen this morning. "The guy I talked to said he was getting about 57 bushels per acre for his beans."
Not bad, considering the overall average for soybeans in the county is 45 bushels per acre, Mangen said.
Mangen said he has heard no reports on corn yields yet, noting that corn was harmed more by the dry weather than soybeans.
The percentage of moisture in the soybeans that have been harvested is lower than expected, considering some of the stalks are still somewhat green, he said. The moisture content should be around 13.5 to 14 percent at harvest.
"I've heard moisture levels at the low to mid 20s and one guy had 11 to 12 percent moisture ... some have reported down to 9 percent moisture," Mangen said. "You don't want the moisture to get too low because we know that the price is based on weight."
Mangen said in the next two to three weeks, most of the beans should be harvested, wheat should be planted and a good deal of the corn also should be off. That's when ag officials will have a better idea of just how the dry weather affected yields, he said.
"There will always be pockets of poor crops, but I've never seen a year where it's been so spotty," he said. "You could have a field get 2 inches of rain and drive a mile down the road and they got nothing."
Additional online story on this date
COLDWATER - For the first time in my life, I felt out of place for not wearing pink.
That's because coaches, players, fans and officials were dressed in pink in support of breast cancer awareness all throughout The Palace when Celina visited Coldwater on Tuesday evening. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Celina city officials have agreed to buy the Winkeljohn Printing building at 212 N. Main St., but still have not revealed any long-term plans for the site.
NEW BREMEN - The Lock One Restoration Project should be complete within the next 30 days, according to reports presented when New Bremen village councilors met Tuesday night.
COLDWATER - A new exterior storage facility may be constructed on school property once money from the school's maintenance fund becomes available, according to Superintendent Rich Seas.
Tolentino and Ignacia Rodriguez, who realized the American dream by starting Casa Rodriguez Mexican restaurant more than 25 years ago in Celina, are getting ready to pass the business on to their two daughters.
Opportunity came at the right time for the Celina Bulldogs.
After a scoreless first half, Celina finally got on the board against Elida when Tyler Hoyng scored off a free kick with 33:18 left to go in the contest.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Celina concluded regular season dual match action in tennis, beating Lima Central Catholic 4-1 on Tuesday.
The NetDogs lost just one dual match all season, that coming in the OTCA Team Tournament last week against Fremont Ross.
Week 5 is now complete, which means the high school football regular season is now half over.
At this time every year, you can look at the computer points of each of the 24 regions in the state and unofficially eliminate half the teams from serious playoff contention.