The near constant rains of the last month have made soupy messes of the region's grain fields, keeping farmers indoors and pushing the harvest toward the uncomfortable back end of the season.

The percentage of soy and corn harvested in Illinois and Missouri through most of October is lower than it has been in the last 30 years or longer.

As of Oct. 25, farmers had only harvested 14 percent of Illinois' corn and 33 percent of the state's soybeans. Missouri farmers had only harvested 43 percent of the state's corn and 28 percent of the soybeans. Typically, the percentage harvested at this point in the year hovers around 80 percent.

Farmers had hoped to pull in near-record crops but have instead stared down soggy skies and possibly diminished yields.

"They're frustrated because we have a pretty good yield out there, and we just need to bring it in," said Bill Wiebold, an extension specialist with the University of Missouri. "They're very concerned. It's been a stressful year from the

beginning. It started late with a wet spring, and now time is getting short."

If the weather clears in coming days, as predicted, farmers will be scrambling to catch up.

"This means they'll be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in the combine," said Gene Danekas, of the National Agricultural Statistics Service's field office in Missouri. "It means more expenses for them. Any time you're running this far behind, it's going to cost you more."

On Friday, the Missouri Department of Agriculture asked state transportation authorities to waive certain rules so the state's farmers can haul more grain, more quickly, to storage facilities.

"The combination of late plantings and excessive rain across Missouri over the past 30 days has only compounded financial hardship for farmers, costing them millions of dollars," said John Hagler, head of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, in a statement. "This emergency declaration will help farmers facing unprecedented harvesting problems get their crops out of their fields and to markets."

Illinois produced $4 billion in soybeans and $8 billion in corn in 2008, ranking it as the second-largest soy- and corn-producing state in the U.S. Missouri produced $1.7 billion in soy and $1.5 billion in corn, ranking it sixth and ninth respectively.

Analysts are particularly worried about the soybean harvest in both states, which is susceptible to changes in weather.

"Soybeans are more fragile," explained Mark Schleusener, of the Illinois' field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. "If the pods crack open, the beans fall to the ground."

This outcome, known as shattering, happens when soybeans swell with extra moisture, weakening the pod wall, and then shrink. Once on the ground, combines can't pick them up.

Corn is facing its own problems. Saturated, heavy plants topple more easily — and recent high winds haven't helped — leaving stalks on the ground, where they're difficult to harvest.

High moisture content in corn also means that some plants are showing early signs of cob rot. The rest has to be dried after it makes its way into storage bins, lifting farmers' energy costs and triggering more delays.

"We're taking a crop out with a much higher moisture content," said Gary Clark, of the Missouri Corn Growers Association. "The wetter the corn, the slower the harvest because we have to artificially dry it."

Despite the challenges, growers in both Illinois and Missouri are optimistic that they'll get decent yields if conditions in the next few weeks cooperate.

"Typically we're done by now," said Kieth Witt, a corn farmer from Warrenton County and president of the Missouri Corn Growers Association. "But if we can get some good drying weather, we'll make strides in catching up. The next five days look pretty good. We can make a pretty good dent."

Once the ground freezes, harvesting can continue, Witt explained, but it's particularly hard on equipment. Still, he said, "We'll harvest until we're done."