Posted at: 08/31/2009 11:37 AM

Wheat Harvest Finally Under Way in Valley

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - The spring wheat harvest has finally gotten under way in the Red River Valley of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

It's one of the latest starts to the harvest. In a typical year, most of the spring wheat would be in farmers' bins by now. The crop was delayed this year by spring flooding and the unseasonably cool summer.

Robin Stene, manager of a grain elevator in the Minnesota town of Halstad, says wheat yields are good but protein is down. Farmers get more money for higher-protein wheat.

Stene says the grain is coming in wet, and drying costs will cut into farmers' profits.

The harvest pace in the valley is about to get hectic. The initial sugar beet harvest begins this week, and some dry edible bean fields are within two or three weeks of harvest.

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Information from: Grand Forks Herald, http://www.grandforksherald.com