State officials say this is one of the earliest harvests in recent memory. According to the latest report from the U.S.D.A. almost all of the soybean fields in Iowa have been harvested, Two-thirds of the corn has been picked.
Based on last week’s progress, officials believe 94 percent of the soybeans and 66 percent of the corn in Iowa have been harvested. The warm, sunny weather for the past three weeks is the driving factor in the speedy harvest.
According to the U.S.D.A., there is one downside to the dry weather: there have been a number of fires reported in Iowa farm fields as overheated combines and dry dust proved to be a dangerous combination. Parts of Iowa did get rain last Monday and Tuesday, but most locations received less than half an inch.