NICHOLS, Iowa — On Wednesday the weatherman warned of impending rain.

The forecast through Saturday is calling for rain — possibly heavy at times — and thunderstorms.

“We don’t need rain,” said Jim Howell, a farmer who owns land west of Columbus City. “My harvest could be delayed for a few days depending on how much it rains. A half inch is not a big problem but and inch and a half or more, that develops into an issue.”

Howell, 71, a former Mediapolis High School agriculture teacher, said his harvest has been pushed back about two weeks because of heavy summer rains that saturated the ground.

Corn was planted later than normal this year due to a wet spring. Every day farmers are put off from the harvest is another day closer to winter weather —and winter is not an ideal time to harvest due to snow.

Although it rained less than an inch in September, as opposed to the normal of 3.75 inches, his land had not dried out from earlier rains. In June it rained more than 8 inches. July had the normal 4-5 inches. And in August, more than 9 inches fell, according to collections in Muscatine.

“I think there were 21 days in June that it rained some amount and that kept us out of the fields the entire month,” Howell said.

Farmers along Iowa Highway 22 in Muscatine County were faring much better Wednesday. Their land had dried out but, as in year past, each farmer still faced different issues.

“The ground is not too wet but the corn is very wet this year and that costs us more to dry it out,” said

Don Scott, who along with son David Scott, was

harvesting corn on their family farm about five

miles west of Muscatine near the Cedar River.

West of Nichols off Bancroft Avenue, Gayle Kaalberg harvested short-season soybeans, which mature in fewer days than other varieties of soybeans. He and his son, Kory Kaalberg, had harvested corn all morning and switched over to beans in the afternoon once the dew was off the ground.

“We are a week or two later than we’d like to start. It’s pretty nice harvesting because the ground is dry,” Kory Kaalberg said.

Normally the Kaalbergs would harvest through the weekend but they are expecting delays if it rains.

The Kaalbergs are also experiencing another rain-related issue — low test weights, or density. Kory Kaalberg said the growing season was too wet and too cool to produce the standard 56-pound bushel.

“In good ground, you’ll get 60-61 pounds but we’re getting weights at about 52 to 53 pounds,” he added.