Farmers in Illinois running behind on harvest

Getting harvesting equipment out to the corn crop in Illinois has been delayed.
Getting harvesting equipment out to the corn crop in Illinois has been delayed.
October has been rather wet in Northern Illinois, leaving some producers to only just get started using harvesting equipment on their corn crops.

A recent story form the state's Daily Herald newspaper noted that in a year with a normal amount of precipitation, most farmers in the area would be almost finished with using harvesting equipment to gather the fruits of their labor. But, cold and wet conditions delayed farmers from getting out into their fields.

For example, in McHenry County, the paper reports that this year could mark the third-slowest harvest for corn and the second-slowest for soy beans.

"We're kind of concerned it might drag out into mid- or late-December," said Dan Volkers, manager of the McHenry County Farm Bureau, told the paper.

One of the other effects of having a later harvest is that it means farm equipment may be on the road during the darker times of day. As a result, more accidents on the roads involving farm equipment could occur.

In order to avoid this, drivers need to make sure they watch out for farm equipment. Drivers should prepare to slow down and need to take care when attempting to pass large machinery.
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