Harvest continues in Northeast Iowa

Northeast Iowa's harvest is usually a little later than the rest of the state's harvest due to the cooler temperatures. So far about 56% of corn and 92% of soybeans have been harvested in Northeast Iowa. State-wide the corn harvest is about 17% behind normal. Last year at this time 84 percent of corn and 94 percent of soybeans had been harvested state-wide.

Last week Decorah had below average temperatures which led to wet corn, which slows down the harvest.

Decorah organic farmer Daniel Beard planted soybeans this year along with their usual corn crop. "We usually harvest soybeans after the corn because organic soybeans always have weeds in them. The weeds need to be killed by a frost before it's possible to combine them. It was cold enough last week, but we haven't have very good weather for the soybeans to dry naturally."

Farmers learn to cultivate patience as they rely on the weather during planting and harvesting. The weather is forecasting to be warmer and drier this week, which means there will be a lot of combines out in the fields getting their crops in.