When will we finish harvest? 

For some area farmers, the question is when will we start harvest, let alone finish it!  Almost continuous rain since April has made a “challenging harvest’ an understatement.  Last Monday’s U. S. Dept of Agriculture reports indicate nearly 10.4 billion bushels of corn and 1.82 billion bushels of soybeans are awaiting harvest.

In Illinois, we are 14% corn harvested compared with a 77% average.  For soybeans, 33% is harvested with an 86% average.  This means that each day the crops are still in the fields means greater deterioration of the crop.

I just hate to read this kind of news in the paper.  My heart goes out to the farmers who have suffered this year because of the excessive rainfall.  It is too bad we can’t send some of the rain to Australia where it has been badly needed.  Oh well, that is just the way it is.  Usually we have a dry hot summer.  This year it has been neither dry or hot.  I think our actual 90 degree days amounted to 2 and that was in the month of June.  Normal would be 18 – 20 days for the month of August alone.

It is a beautiful sunshiny day which started out at 32 degrees and is up to 50 right now.  As soon as I get my lunch digested I may go out and tackle the beans.  Tackle being the operative word. 

I have put the Halloween candy away in hopes that I will forget where I put it.