More precipitation over the past week slowed harvest to some degree, but farmers were still able to average five days suitable for fieldwork. “An active weather pattern returned to Iowa this past week, which brought much needed rainfall across the state,” says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig. “Soybean harvest continues to make significant progress and should be wrapping up soon despite a soggy forecast.” According to the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report for the week ending Oct. 24, soybean harvest is now 83 percent complete, six days ahead of the five-year average. The corn harvest is one week ahead of average with producers across much of the state nearing two-thirds of the crop out of the fields. Those in the northeast and in south central Iowa have more than half of their crop remaining. Moisture content of field corn is at 18 percent, unchanged from the week before. The recent rains have boosted soil moisture levels. Topsoil moisture is now only 30 percent short to very short and subsoil levels are now at 45 percent. The full Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report can be found at nass.usda.gov.