There are Christmas chorales on the radio as Illinois Valley farmers in combines struggle to cut corn crops out of the fields — an unusual pairing to say the least.

The 2009 harvest, thought at the beginning of the season to possibly be the biggest ever, now will be remembered as damp, difficult and one of the latest on record.

According to Illinois Department of Agriculture statistics released Monday, Illinois now has 72 percent of its corn harvest combined right now when the five-year average for Dec. 1 is 99 percent out of the fields.

This year's soybean and corn plantings were drastically delayed due to incessant spring rains and those weather delays, which continued for much of the growing season, now are affecting harvest.

Experts believe a corn harvest as late as this one last happened in the 1967 corn crop season, and before then back to 1946. In 1967, only 20 percent of the crop was combined by the end of the first week in November and it wasn't until February 1968 until the harvest was considered completed.

Consequences of a later harvest corn crop, according to Professor William Bailey, director of Western Illinois University's School of Agriculture, include:

• Corn did lose much moisture during October and early November, but research indicates farmers should not expect much future drying after mind-November. Reducing the amount of moisture in the harvest corn is important because too much moisture reduces its value.
• Ninety percent of the yield loss takes place after late November, so hopes are still high for reasonable yields and, despite all the adverse conditions this year, current reports show excellent yield numbers.
• While not quantified, harvest delays increase damage from deer and other wildlife.
• Simply delaying harvest does not usually affect grain quality, so reduced bushel prices of late-harvested corn is expected to be limited.

The wet weather problems may not just affect this year's crop. Normally, after the combine sweep, most Illinois farmers till their land to prepare fields for next season's spring planting. That work may be delayed or abandoned entirely because of the late harvest.

The National Agriculture Statistic Services, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reported earlier last month that the nation's entire corn harvest was hampered by high crop moisture content, and Midwestern grain elevators were having difficulty keeping up with drying the grain.

Tricia Braid-Terry, Illinois Corn Growers Association communication director, said Monday the drying problem continues with Illinois grain elevators that have to close deliveries of corn because they have already met their capacity for the day.

"That further delays the process of farmers," she said.

Another fallout from the late harvest is fewer deer have been taken by Illinois hunters this hunting season, since so many standing corn fields in the state have made it tougher for hunters to track their prey, according to reports from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Compiled by the DNR, a preliminary total of 66,126 deer were reported taken during last week's opening of the 2009 firearm season compared to 71,984 deer killed at the same time last year.