
The wet weather we're seeing right now means another delay for farmers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says this is the third latest corn harvest in Illinois history. Farmers are working long hours trying to get their crops out, leading to long lines at grain elevators. Some elevator operators say they can't dry the crops as fast as they're coming in.
As winter gets closer, local agriculture experts say crop quality is at risk if fields aren't cleared soon.
"The look of those fields are starting to look a lot more ragged. The stalks strength isn't as good, beans are shattering, the corn is going to start falling down,” said U of I Extension Crop Systems Educator Dennis Bowman. “It's going to make it a lot harder to harvest and the good yields that are out there may not make it in."
The Illinois Department of Agriculture says the two latest corn harvests happened in 1967 and 1946.