LONDON, Ohio — Ohio farmers are facing a difficult harvest season as persistent rain keeps equipment out of fields while diesel prices reach record levels. The challenges were a major topic at the 64th annual Farm Science Review, a three-day event at Ohio State University’s Molly Caren Agriculture Center in Madison County. The event runs through Thursday and drew 112,000 visitors last year, according to organizers. Morgan Hann, a beef farmer from Morgan County, said wet conditions have prevented him from cutting additional alfalfa and forced him to move his cattle to another farm after heavy rainfall. “When it’s wet, you can’t get in to harvest anything,” Hann said. He added that he has third- and fourth-cutting alfalfa ready to mow but cannot reach it with equipment. Chuck and Diane Hicks, who farm in southeast Ohio, said excessive moisture is also affecting crop development. Chuck Hicks said some crops are not maturing normally and that mold has developed in soybeans. Aaron Wilson, Ohio’s state climatologist and an agriculture weather and climate field specialist with Ohio State University Extension, said late-season wetness raises the risk of crop disease. Harvesting saturated fields can also damage soil structure and reduce long-term soil health. “Farmers have always been on the front lines of weather,” Wilson said. But increasingly severe swings between very wet and very dry conditions are making the work more difficult, he said, requiring greater resilience. Wilson said farmers should still have reason to hope for a productive harvest, although the schedule could stretch well beyond the usual season. In some areas, he said, harvesting may continue through Thanksgiving or even Christmas. Fuel costs are adding pressure. The average diesel price reached $6.52 per gallon this week, described at the event as a record high. Farm machinery largely depends on diesel, making fuel a direct and substantial operating cost during the busiest part of the year. Hicks said his operation can use more than 100 gallons of diesel per day during harvest. Hann called the price “ridiculous” and said farmers are absorbing the cost while continuing to produce the food communities depend on. The combination of delayed fieldwork, potential crop losses and expensive fuel leaves farmers with less control over both their schedules and their margins. For Ohio communities that rely on agriculture, the stakes extend beyond this year’s harvest: repeated weather extremes and rising input costs can make it harder for smaller farms to remain viable.