The 2011 corn harvest is winding down in the panhandle, and grain merchandisers say this year's crop is one of the biggest on record.
John Calahan with Crossroads Cooperative says the quality of this year's corn crop is ranked as average or above average.
Calahan says this summers weather played a big factor on yields across the panhandle. He says Bayard and Bridgeport were exceptional areas, but areas along the Mitchell Valley were hurt by hail early on in the planting stages.
Calahan says regardless of the hail, total yields are off the charts as farmers planted more corn because of exceptionally high prices.
"There were approximately 91 million acres planted nationwide. And this area was definitely up. I think that's very evident with the amount of corn that you see stored on the ground in some locations."
Calahan estimates the panhandle is 98 - to - 99 percent completed with the 2011 corn harvest.
