When a crop is allowed to naturally dry down to a certain point before harvest, it’s important to acknowledge phantom yield loss is a real possibility. Does the elusive dry matter lost equate to bushels? If so, is it enough to justify switching up harvest timing and paying for drying? Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer has been tracking the invisible enemy lurking in corn fields and shares insights based on her research.

This fall could offer an easy harvest or a challenging one. Don’t just hope for beautiful weather. Instead, follow these tips from Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie.

How much sleep do you get each night during the busy season? Researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln found that harvest season shaves off 28 minutes of a farmer’s sleep each night.

Here are five common phone calls made to equipment dealerships during harvest — and five possible solutions to fix the problems before requesting a service call.