Early October has brought beautiful weather (so far) to the Upper Midwest, and area farmers are taking advantage. The harvest of remaining crops — mainly soybeans, corn, sugar beets, potatoes and sunflowers — is going full bore.

I talked recently with an employee of a North Dakota grain elevator. “We’re super busy,” she said. She laughed and asked, “Want to come and help us out?”

I laughed, too, and said I wouldn’t mind but couldn’t get away.

Yes, farmers and grain elevators are busy. But it’s a good kind of busy. True, digging potatoes and sugar beets out of dry ground isn’t easy, but spud and beet farmers have suffered through wet falls that left fields a soggy mess.

One more thing: Whatever your role in harvest, stay smart and safe.