Larry Pederson and his son Tyler (not pictured) make quick work of combining soybeans on this field near Valley City. (Jean Schlegel/VCTR)

By Jean Schlegel
Valley City Times-Record

Saturday was a great day for arts and crafts shows, but it was also a perfect day to get started combining  soybeans.
That's just what farmer Larry Pederson and his sons were doing. Pederson lives a few miles south of Valley City on the Kathryn Road. As he was combining, he could read what the approximate yield was on his yield monitor in the combine. However, he found out later the soybeans didn't fare as well as he thought.
They were running about 33 bushels to the acre, which he figures is a little below average. Moisture readings were 12.7 percent and the test weight was 55 pounds per bushel.
Barnes County Agent Randy Grueneich said the average for soybeans varies county-wide. Some farmers are seeing 25 bushels to the acre for soybeans. Grueneich said as of Monday, the price for soybeans was $10.50 bushels to the acre (cash price).
Grueneich said farmers were probably expecting more from their soybeans because they looked so nice. The first soybeans being harvested may have run out of moisture before all the nice rains came.
Pederson's two sons, Tyler and Carl, farm with him and he also has a hired man. Tyler owns a John Deere combine like his father, and he also hires out for custom combining.
Grueneich said farmers in Barnes County are now busy with soybeans, with the corn harvesting coming up soon. He said the corn crops look good right now and farmers should have an average to above average corn crop.   
The Agriculture Department says above-normal temperatures helped the development of the remaining crops. It says the state's corn needs more time to mature, and some farmers are still waiting for a hard frost to dry soybeans and sunflowers.
Most of the state's wheat, flax and canola crops have been harvested while the sugar beet and sunflower harvests are running slightly behind average. The report says only about a fourth of the pastures are in good shape.