Heavy rain this week left Macon County corn and soybeans still in the field at risk of lost bushels and lower grain quality, but a dry week is forecast.
A volunteer rain gauge north of Callao recorded 2.72 inches in the 24 hours ending at 9:30 a.m. Thursday and 2.89 inches since Tuesday morning, according to Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network reports. Totals were far lighter on the east side of the county: a gauge northeast of Macon recorded 0.35 inch over the same two days, and a gauge 1.5 miles north of Macon recorded 0.26 inch in the 24 hours ending at 7:55 a.m. Thursday. That gauge recorded 1.23 inches in the 24 hours ending at 7 a.m. Friday, the only Friday report posted for Macon County as of about 7:15 a.m.
The National Weather Service in Kansas City/Pleasant Hill added Macon County to a flood watch at 9:16 a.m. Thursday; the watch expired at 1 a.m. Friday. The weather service forecast for Macon, updated at 6:57 a.m. Friday, called for a sunny day with a high near 65, northeast wind gusts as high as 24 mph and little or no new rain. Sunny or mostly sunny skies are forecast Saturday through Tuesday, with highs from 67 to 72, lows from 45 to 48 and no rain in the forecast.
Rivers and roads
The weather service issued a new flood warning for the Chariton River near Prairie Hill, in Chariton County, at 2:09 a.m. Friday, covering Chariton and Macon counties. The warning replaced a Thursday night cancellation: the service had canceled an earlier warning at 8:54 p.m. Thursday when the forecast crest fell below flood stage, then raised the crest again overnight.
At 5:45 a.m. Friday the river was at 14.42 feet, and it held near that level through 6:45 a.m. It was forecast to rise above its 15-foot flood stage later Friday, crest at 16.1 feet Friday evening, and fall back below flood stage just after midnight tonight, according to the weather service and the National Water Prediction Service. At 15 feet, fields along the river begin to flood, the warning said. The gauge is in Chariton County; the warning lists both Chariton and Macon counties.
Two other nearby gauges rose Thursday night, according to the water prediction service. The Chariton River near Novinger, in Adair County, peaked at 10.43 feet about 11:15 p.m. Thursday and had fallen to 9.58 feet by 5:45 a.m., against a 20-foot flood stage. The North Fork Salt River at Hagers Grove, in Shelby County, was at 15.74 feet and still rising at 6:30 a.m., above its 12-foot flood stage in minor flooding. No flood warning was active for Shelby County at about 7:15 a.m. Friday.
Route HH in Macon County was still closed in both directions by flooding at about 7:15 a.m. Friday, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation's Traveler Information Map, which listed the closure as starting at 9:14 a.m. Thursday.
Macon Electric Cooperative's outage map showed no members without power at 7:13 a.m. Friday. Macon Municipal Utilities' outage map also showed no outages at about 7:15 a.m. Friday.
Ahead of schedule before the rain
As of Sunday, before this week's storms, 42% of Missouri's corn had been harvested, ahead of the five-year average of 35%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Soybean harvest stood at 14%, compared with an 8% average. Statewide, 68% of corn and 58% of soybeans were rated good or excellent.
NASS stopped publishing Missouri's state and district crop progress reports in 2025, so no Macon County or Northeast Missouri breakdown is available. The next report, due Monday, will be the first to reflect this week's rain.
From dry to wet
All of Macon County was rated abnormally dry on the U.S. Drought Monitor map of Sept. 8. On this week's map, valid Tuesday, none of the county was in any dry or drought category. Drought deepened in southern Missouri over the past week, according to the Drought Monitor.
Kirksville recorded 6.99 inches of rain in September, nearly double the normal 3.65 inches, according to the weather service. The gauge north of Callao recorded 5.97 inches for the month, according to the rain network.
Where the losses come from
University of Missouri Extension guidance identifies several ways a wet harvest costs farmers money:
- Corn stalks and ears. Standing corn can develop stalk rot and fall over, leaving ears the combine can't pick up. MU recommends a pinch or push test on stalks: "If more than 10-15 percent of the stalks are rotted, the field should be harvested as soon as possible."
- Soybeans. Drought weakens soybean pods, and repeated wetting and drying raises the risk they split and drop beans, according to MU. Frequent rain can also make seed sprout in the pod, and "grain will be docked at the point of sale." Every four to five beans per square foot left in the field equals a bushel an acre lost, according to MU.
- Wet grain. MU recommends drying corn to 15% moisture within 24 hours and to 13% for long-term storage to limit mold growth.
- Ruts. Heavy equipment on saturated ground compacts soil, which "may reduce yield in the current season and, in some cases, persist beyond one year," according to MU Extension.
- Hay. Rained-on hay "likely is less digestible with lower yields," and only a hay test shows its true quality, according to MU Extension.
Valerie Tate, an MU Extension field specialist in agronomy who serves Macon County, and Steve Fairchild, director of communications for MFA, the farm supply cooperative that operates MFA Agri Services in Macon, were asked by email Thursday about harvest risks, grain moisture and drying charges. Chariton Media Group did not receive a response in time for publication.
What insurance covers
Federal crop insurance covers loss of quality, lower yields and, for farmers who chose revenue coverage, revenue losses from insured causes such as excess moisture, but "the cost of drying the harvested crop is not covered," according to the USDA Risk Management Agency.
Farmers who find damage must notify their agent within 72 hours, according to RMA. The insurance period for corn and soybeans ends Dec. 10, though insurers can grant extra time to harvest if certain conditions are met.
Separately, Executive Order 26-19, which Gov. Mike Kehoe signed Wednesday, suspends state penalties for dyed diesel used in farm hauling and raises the harvest truck-weight limit through Oct. 30. The governor's office said the order only applies to state highways and that dyed diesel on a U.S. highway could still bring a federal penalty unless a waiver is granted; federal dyed-fuel rules cover any public road, according to the IRS.