Shortage of grain dryer parts

Winter may be fast approaching, but its been warm and sunny the last few days here in central MN. The nice weather has allowed soybean harvest to move along nicely. Corn harvest is still plagued with wet field conditions and higher than normal moisture. As many farmers scrambled earlier to harvest even wet beans, (16-18 percent moisture) the push was on to dry soybeans in drying bins and grain dryers. Lots of abandoned heaters were resurrected from sheds and the woods to add warm air to bins. Most of these heaters needed parts to make them safe and usable this fall and has led to a parts shortage. Suppliers and manufactures shelves are bare. No one predicted the wet and cool conditions over such a vast portion of the country. Manufactures are struggling to put out new drying equipment and still service their older machines with parts 3-4 week delays on parts are not unheard of. Most dryer manufacturers use electronic components that are sourced from other vendors. The majority of the electronics manufacturers use JITM ( Just In Time Manufacturing) Which means when they order it, we will build it. Now that's great from the bean counters perspective. But it sure sucks for the farmer whose dryer is broke down and the wet bin is full. Unfortunately, this translates into 6-8 weeks of lead time. As time runs short for harvest, the pressure will continue on service people and their suppliers. Any weak spot in the harvesting system will appear this year, and with wet field conditions will be magnified.