Farmers at the mercy of Mother Nature

(WDAY TV) - Area farmers can't seem to get a break. Between last fall, spring, and now this wet October, it's been a struggle to pull off a good crop. In Wilkin County, farmers are fighting a major battle with soggy fields.

WDAY 6 Reporter Christina Vaughn talked with one veteran farmer today, who says this is the worst harvest he's been through in 25 years. Just off Interstate 94, north of Rothsay, Lyle Hovland works as fast as his combine will carry him, trying to harvest his 17 hundred acres of soybeans and corn.

“Frustrating, in a word frustrating. Every time you think you're just going to get going, why, it rains another batch.”

This season the job's extremely tough. Hovland has to maneuver around soggy patches in the fields, trying to keep his heavy machinery from getting stuck in the mud.

“Firmer than you'd think in a lot of cases, but then you'll come along and all the sudden it'll drop. You have to know your fields really well and I’ve been on them 40 years, so I do.”

Some crops will have to stay in the fields for now, because it's just too wet. A good freeze will help, but it may already be too late for some of Hovland's crop.

“Right now we're experiencing mold in the fields. And that's looking like it may it may get to be a serious problem. Elevators are already saying, we just don't have a market for that, so we don't want it.”

Hovland is crossing his fingers for a few sunny days. October only gave him a day and a half to work in the fields, so far, November’s off to a promising start.

“I’m glad to see the sun; I’d like to see it continue. We need a month of it though to get anything really done here. And then are we going to get field work done? I question it.”

For now, this lifelong farmer hopes for the best. He says that's all you can do, when you're at the mercy of Mother Nature. The wet conditions are also tearing up a lot of county roads, making it difficult for trucks to haul out the crops.

Tags: christina vaughn, wilkin county, agriculture, weather, rothsay