Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Corn has always been a staple for Thanksgiving meals, and this year there will certainly be no shortage of it.

"We're harvesting one of the largest crops on record," says Jay Garetson, who manages Providence Grain LLC in Sublette, KS. "The summer being relatively mild meant the crops actually matured this year, rather than just die of heat exhaustion."

Garetson says that has led to many happy farmers, "Most people are looking at anywhere from 110% to 120% of their long-term averages."

What he calls an "excellent" harvest didn't come without hitches. Some fields didn't even have a chance to get cut until just a few days ago because of all the recent moisture.

"The weather has caused some harvest delays, but that hasn't been all bad in that it's really helped hold the prices from sliding," adds Garetson. He later joked, "If this is climate change and global warming, I suppose there's several of us in Southwest Kansas that would sign up."

When you're passing the corn during your Thanksgiving meal, be thankful because you know local farmers are.

"It seems really fitting that we're finishing this up just ahead of Thanksgiving, so I think there's a lot to be thankful for this year."