There's a silver lining to a damp October 10.31.09

CHEROKEE, Iowa -- October celebrated its own Halloween holiday all month. 

Came dressed as another month. Like February. Maybe March.

The 2009 October edition closes as the second wettest in Iowa history, trailing only 1881. Can I see a show of hands of those who remember?

October 2009 was also the third coolest, warmer only than 1917 and 1925.

The dark, damp, dreary cloak October donned this fall has Iowa farmers mudding through the slowest harvest since 1960. Through last Sunday, 12 percent of Iowa's corn had been picked; only 47 percent of the soybean crop.

Where should we be by now?

"Typically -- at least over the last 20 years -- we'd have 56 percent of the corn harvest and 91 percent of the beans harvested by now," says Harry Hillaker, state climatologist.

"I've been around this business since the mid-1970s and I haven't experienced something like this," says Jim Carlson, general manager for the First Cooperative Association of Cherokee, Iowa. "Going from the south to the Midwest, it's just wet. I have friends in western Nebraska I talked to Thursday and they're getting snow."

Growers in the eight counties Carlson serves have usually closed out the bean harvest by now. He estimates 70 percent of soybeans are in the bin.

"On corn, we've got a long way to go," he adds. "We're 12 percent done in our trade area."

The strange October put stress on farmers and will strain pocketbooks. Once it's picked, corn must be dried. The process takes extra moves, extra time, extra money.

"Plus the extra cost for therapy," Carlson jokes.

If there is a saving grace it's in bulk. The 2009 crop appears to be average or above average in yield, both corn and soybeans.

And, this: The October showers will help raise May flowers, so to speak.

"You never want to turn down rain," Carlson says. "That's the good news. We'll go into next spring with really, really good soil moisture. That sets up the chance for our third straight big crop."

At least Carlson found something in October's clouds: A silver lining.

Breakout:

The National Weather Service reports Sioux City broke a record for October precipitation, topping 5.8 inches recorded in 1881. The city's average temperature last month was 44.3 degrees, seven degrees below normal.

Statewide stats:

Iowa generally gets 2.52 inches of rain in October. Through Thursday, Iowa had 6.28 inches of rain. The 1881 record equals 6.42 inches.

Iowa's average October temperature is 50.9 degrees. The coolest October occurred in 1925, at 40.1 degrees. In 1917, Iowa's average temp was 42.8. I owa's average temperature in October came to 44.9, six degrees below normal.