Moisture in air slows valley rice harvest

In the photos, from the top: Larry Maben, a rice farmer near Willows, says he is about halfway through with harvest; he checks to see whether whole kernels made it through the combine and back onto the ground (not an outcome you would want); and his son, Russel Maben, operates the combine as a bankout keeps pace.

The harvest started a little later than growers expected because moisture in the air in the past few weeks has kept a higher-than-desired level of moisture in the rice. They expect to keep going into November; fortunately (for them, at least), there isn't any rain to speak of on the horizon.

Look for my full story at CapitalPress.com tomorrow.