Iowa’s corn and soybean harvest are underway. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 66% of the state’s corn is mature and 52% of soybeans are dropping leaves with 7% of soybeans harvested. Corn is three weeks ahead of last year and over a week ahead of average with soybeans 17 days ahead of last year and about a week ahead of average.

Senator and farmer Charles Grassley encourages people to be safe on the roads as more farm equipment gets out for harvest, “I’ve you know hauled grain down the road with usually two wagons and a tractor and a lot of things can, you can’t be on top of everything. And so, the farmer should be extra cautious. But for everybody that’s a nonfarmer on the road in their car, or their truck, or whatever the case might be, make sure that you are cautious as well, because you’re visibility is limited when you are hauling wagons down or particularly if you’ve got big equipment you’ve got to be even more careful. And remember that’s slow-moving equipment. And there’s a lot of accidents at this time of year, so make sure you aren’t one of them whether you’re the farmer or you’re the nonfarmer.”

This week, Iowa’s corn is rated at 4% excellent, 38% good, 32% fair, 15% poor, and 11% very poor. Soybeans are rated at 5% excellent, 43% good, 33% fair, 13% poor, and 6% very poor.