Farmers are hunkering down for a slow, drawn-out harvest season as uneven growing conditions, wet soils and big crops in some areas cause delays.

There were a few scattered reports of combines rolling in corn and soybean fields last week, but farmers said the majority of crops won’t be mature for another week or two following a cooler than normal growing season. Iowa’s corn and soybean crops were four to five days behind normal at the beginning of last week, according to the USDA’s weekly crop progress report.

"We’re probably still two weeks away before any major field work gets done," Story County farmer Derrick Black said Sept. 18. "Usually we’ve got beans going by now, in a normal year."

In addition to delayed crop maturity, many farmers are also waiting for soils to dry out after above-normal rainfall in...