One thing farmers may be thankful for this coming Thanksgiving is if they get their corn harvest completed, according to one area farmer.
Menlo farmer and Iowa Corn Promotion Board District 7 Director Ralph Lents, says he just started harvesting corn in the last couple weeks, due to frequent rain delaying progress. Heavy winds have also affected his corn stalks. Lents believes he’s about a week behind harvesting compared to last year, “I think corn harvest will be extremely slow because of the moisture of the corn. A lot of it has to go to town, town will have to dry it and it’s just going to be a slow process with long lines.”
Lents adds, it seems he and other producers have been “behind the 8- ball” since spring planting due to weather and a later maturing crop. He says this leads to taking shortcuts in the fall, as last harvest he didn’t get to fix up his fields very much and he predicts the same for this year. According to State Climatologist Justin Glisan, September was the 15th wettest September in 147 years, with rainfall 2.79 inches above normal.