A wet fall has made things a little more difficult for Greene County farmers during harvest season.

Paton farmer Pat Fields says he started harvesting soybeans around October 10th which is about three weeks later than usual and he hasn’t started harvesting corn yet which he usually starts around October 10th.  He states that crops took longer to mature this year than last year because of the saturated soil moisture and a cooler than expected summer.

Jefferson farmer Mike Bravard started harvesting corn earlier this week but adds that  muddy conditions can slow down the combines considerably.

“It’s just kind of hard on machinery (and) trying to get around the muddier spots and stuff.  We’re close to being stuck, but never really got stuck.  Some guys weren’t able to get out a few times and had to pull the combine out with a tractor or something.  But it just takes extra time if you’ve got to go around areas that you can’t get to.”

However, warmer than usual temperatures in late October have helped to push the harvest season along, but Fields expects to be done with harvest by the middle of November.  Last year, he was done with harvest by November 1st.

Despite the delay to the harvest season, Fields believes he’s yields will be better than last year.  Soybean yields last year were in the low-40’s for bushels per acre and corn was about 175 bushels per acre and each is expected to be about 10 bushels better on average.  Bravard thinks his corn yields will be between 190-210 compared to last year’s 160 bushel per acre yields.