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Watch for mud on the roads during harvest

As farmers work to harvest crops in wet fields, a county official in northwest Iowa is warning motorists to watch for mud left on roadways by farm equipment.

This past weekend near Le Mars, Iowa, a driver lost control of her vehicle after encountering excessive mud on a county road.  The car slid off the roadway and struck a tree, injuring both occupants.

Plymouth County engineer Tom Rohe says, normally, mud on the roads is not a big concern during the fall harvest season.

“It’s happened a couple of times already this year, with the wet conditions that we’ve had,” Rohe says. “Normally, we get into the fall and we’ve got drier conditions and it’s not really that much of an issue. But this year it could be more of an issue as we go through the harvest season.”

Rohe says county road workers will monitor road conditions, especially the paved roads, and will remove excessive mud where necessary.

Dennis Morrice of KLEM, Le Mars, Iowa contributed to this story.