By Laura Horihan

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

PINE ISLAND -- The fall harvest chugged slowly along last week because most corn and soybean fields still were too wet to combine.

Although the weather has been a headache for farmers, the late harvest is relief for one local business.

It's given Farm Country Co-op in Pine Island a chance to fix its elevator, which was damaged in a fire Oct. 14.

"In some ways, the late season has helped," said Bob Durst, who works in the co-op's grain handling department. "It's given us a chance to get going again."

Durst said the co-op was able to get its elevator running again on Sunday.

Although rain or snow could fall tonight or early Wednesday, the rest of the week's forecast looks sunny, giving farmers are hope for progress.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly progress report, 56 percent of soybeans had been harvested as of Sunday.

Only 12 percent of corn has been harvested. Last year, half of the crop had already been harvested.

University of Minnesota Extension crop specialist Lisa Behnken said farmers are trying to combine the rest of their soybeans before starting in on their corn.

"A few guys are switching back and forth between their corn and bean heads," Behnken said. "They take what they can, when they can."

Farmers are finding corn moisture levels in the 28 to 38 percent moisture range, meaning they have to put the corn through a dryer before storing it.

"It's a slow process, because dryers can only hold so much corn at a time," Behnken said.

Behnken said some farmers have reported "moldy corn," a concern for livestock producers. Molds and mycotoxins produced by mold can cause health problems in livestock.

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