Area farmers are growing uneasy as wet weather continues to disrupt the harvest.

   A bad yield could produce higher prices at the supermarket and further damage the struggling rural economy.

   Six to nine inches of rain have fallen in Northeast Missouri between Lewis and Lincoln counties in the last four weeks alone, making an already-wet year even soggier.

   Experts say harvesting is a month behind a normal year and almost two weeks behind 2008, which also was unusually damp.

   As they drank coffee early Wednesday morning at the Shortline 66 convenience store in Frankford, retired farmers and those with crops in the ground expressed concern.

   “We’re on the verge of big trouble,” said Jim Adams. “I think most of them will get it (harvested). The biggest risk you have is snow. The ground won’t freeze under that snow and it could stay on all winter.”

   “A lot of guys have been pulling their hair out,” said Aaron Houchins. “A lot of people who have a lot of ground have a lot of worries.”

   Troy Blackwell put tracks on his combine Monday so he can get into muddy fields.

   “If the crop is dry enough to harvest, we can run,” Blackwell said. “We need to run each day that we can. I figure it’s going to take 20 days. It’s going to be hard.”

   “In 30 days, we’ll know,” said Junior Kent. “Winter will be here.”

   Statewide in Missouri, less than 45 percent of corn and only 28 percent of soybeans had been harvested as of early this week.

   More than 75 percent of Missouri counties have experienced rainfall of six inches or more in the last month, and all but five counties in the extreme northwestern part of the state have had four inches or more in the same period.

   The harvest numbers in Illinois were 14 percent for corn and 33 percent for soybeans.

   Back in Frankford, Claudie Burroughs’ son, Scott, still has a lot of combining ahead.

   “It may have to freeze before he gets back in the fields,” Burroughs said. “It’s muddy now.”

   All of that stress can lead to dangerous shortcuts. The Missouri Farm Bureau is urging producers to keep safety in mind.

   “Farming is one of the more dangerous jobs we have in our country,” said spokesman Estil Fretwell. “When the season drags out, there is a tendency to get in a hurry. Farmers need to be careful and cautious in what they do.”

   Houchins runs a plumbing and construction business on the side, and Adams says many farmers today are forced to find a second income.

   “Being a farmer is great, but you’ve got to have something else to rely on,” Adams said. “It costs more to farm than back when I did it.”

   The longer crops are in the field, the more likely that yields will go down, which could lead to higher grocery prices.

   “I’ve spoken to several producers who think they’re going to be into December and still getting crops out,” said agronomy specialist Alix Carpenter of the University Extension office in Palmyra. “What we need now is no rain.”

   While insurance would cover many farmers’ losses, it won’t allow them to turn a profit.

   Adams says farmers are “resilient” and will “figure out a way” to make ends meet.

   “Most of the guys will make it,” he predicted. “But the thing of it is, it sets you back. You’ve got a bad start for next year.”