For Iowa’s farmers, one of the most challenging periods of every year is coming to an end.

We are, of course, referring to harvest, which consists of weeks of long days bringing in the bounty of Iowa’s corn and soybean fields.

A drive through rural areas reveals not much corn standing in the fields and no soybeans to be seen.

It’s hard to get exact figures on the progress of the harvest right now, in part because of the federal government shutdown. But typically at this point in the year 96 percent of the soybeans statewide have been harvested and 85 percent of the corn statewide has been harvested. We see no reason to believe that this year’s figures would be much different, especially because many farmers in Iowa started harvesting a bit earlier than usual. Plus, knowing of the snow forecast last weekend, farmers in northern Iowa probably made a big push to get done.

The result is, apparently, another bin-buster. Mountains of grain can be seen on the ground near some elevators.

Congratulations farmers, you have done it again.

You have overcome weather, pests and corn rust to produce crops that are the envy of most of the world.

It would be easy to say it’s time for Iowa farmers to put their feet up and take a break. But we all know farmers don’t rest for long and actually don’t want to rest for long. There is equipment to be maintained and planning to do for next year’s crops. And the farmers who have livestock never rest.

But they can rest assured that they do an excellent job feeding a hungry nation and world.