This sunny, blustery Monday is a good setting for the corn harvest.
"We started about 5:30 this morning," said longtime Clinton County farmer Joe Dierickx.
In rural De Witt, Joe and his brother Paul are bringing in an average corn crop. They hope to be done by November 10.
"It's hectic, but it's good busy," Joe said.
But extreme weather is challenging this growing season. That includes everything from flooding to drought. Now, there are some snowy possibilities.
"It's been a year of extremes," Paul said.
As Paul combines row after row of corn, there comes an unpleasant forecast. Their fields could receive accumulating snow on Tuesday.
"We might work a little later tonight just to get a little done if we're close to it," Paul said.
More than an inch of October snow is possible. It won't be a welcome sight for farmers.
"It's not the end of the world, but it is a pain," said Tom Lane, Farm Service Agency.
It could slow a harvest that's already trying to beat the calendar.
"That will make harvest a little more difficult because that snow, as they gather the crops in, feeds up into the machinery," Lane continued.
That nuisance might slow their pace, but it shouldn't have any long term impact on the crops. That's good news for the Dierickx family.
"It will put us out a day is all," Joe said. "When it dries up right away, we'll be right out of it."
Whether there's October snow or sunshine, they remain on track for a solid season.
"We aren't close to being done," Paul said. "So we won't worry about it."
"Right now, it's all systems go," Joe concluded.
That's a solid corn harvest worth the wait in Clinton County.