After a historically wet September, harvest is underway northwest of Sully on a sunny afternoon on Monday, Oct. 5.
Central Iowa farmers are finally getting in the fields after weeks of nearly non-stop rain delayed the start of harvest. With soggy September in the record books, farmers are looking ahead with plenty of concerns on the horizon.
The U.S. National Weather Service in Des Moines reports Des Moines recorded its wettest calendar month in 112 years. According to their records, the official site at the Des Moines airport recorded 14.5 inches of rain in September. That goes down as the wettest month in 112 years and the third-wettest on record, only behind the 15.79 inches of rain that fell in June of 1881 and the 14.81 inches that fell in September of 1914.
If not even a drop of precipitation falls in the next three months, 2026 will still rank as the seventh-wettest year on record in Des Moines. Given Iowa’s weather pattern, it is likely 2026 will continue to climb the ranks.
The soggy conditions did more than delay the start of harvest, they also created additional challenges and concerns. Heavy farm equipment will be traversing across muddy fields. Crop conditions have deteriorated in the saturated fields with mold issues a heavy concern. Add in the economic pressure of soaring diesel prices and the normal worries revolving around harvest any given year, and the strain farmers are facing is significant.
Thankfully, Mother Nature has blessed the area with consecutive days of drier weather. Farmers are taking advantage and hitting the ground running.
