The rains we had in late August/early September helped immensely, but we need more. The ground is hard again and late season perennial flower gardens need watering. Ornamental evergreen and deciduous trees will need thorough watering before freeze up. Local small wetlands are still dry and larger wetlands drawn down. The Buffalo River is still low. With warm and dry conditions in the 3-4 week forecast, fire danger risk is increasing and we may return to extreme drought conditions. Soybean harvest is nearly complete (early) and corn harvest is well underway (very early). Early corn yields have been poor.