Harvest month important for small and large farms

By Charles Christian

September is traditionally known as harvest month, and farms of all sizes are hoping for a successful yield.

A recent Farmer’s Market on Woodbine Road in St. Joseph boasted several tents where farmers introduced this season’s crops to eager buyers. Theresa Jirak, whose family owns Jirak Farm in Atchison, Kansas, said both diversity and crop variety are important, because any crop yield could take a sudden turn due to a variety of conditions, including weather.

“This year, for instance, was a good pepper year,” Jirak said. “Some other crops were not so good.”

She also said that her farm staggers sweet corn crops throughout the year, so they can start picking around the end of June. For them, sweet corn has had a steady yield throughout the year.

“We also have an orchard,” Jirak said. “We put that in a few years ago.”

The diversity of crops helps ensure there are items to sell at farmers markets. She also said that the agricultural community is important to this area, and that smaller farms learn the importance of community and of being there for those who may have a need, especially during harvest season.

“You know, we’ve been doing this for about 20 years,” Jirak said of her family farm. “So, you do see a lot of the same families at events like this year after year.”

Small farms don’t just work together during harvest season. Stu Wertenberger, who owns a small farm in Helena, Missouri, works closely with a large farm in the area to help with the harvest, especially during this time of year. In his case, the Heath Farm in Helena is near his land, and the families have worked together for decades.

“We will run hundreds of acres of corn and soybeans this time of year,” Wertenberger said. “It’s not unusual for smaller farms to work with larger farms in the area in a kind of partnership that benefits us both.”

Wertenberger added that the weather in the area has been positive for both corn and soybeans, so even though there are always exceptions that occur during the process of harvesting hundreds of acres, the outlook is good.

He also said it takes about a month of preparation for the combines on larger farms to be ready for the work, and that includes making sure the heads — the attachments to the combines — are in good working order. Corn is usually harvested first, and then the heads on the combines have to be changed in order to harvest the soybeans.

One thing the owners of both larger and smaller farms agree on, especially during this busy harvest season: They ask drivers to have patience when they see combines and farm trucks on the roadways.

“Farmers are working hard to get products from farms to markets and stores,” Jirak said. “If people can be patient with us on the roadways, they’ll be rewarded with fresh produce.”