MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Many West Tennessee farmers are in a race with rising water in the Mississippi River to harvest their crops.

The National Weather Service said the river was expected to rise to 32.5 feet at Caruthersville, Mo., by Saturday. Flood stage is 32 feet and at that level, most unprotected farmland in northwest Tennessee is affected.

An unusually wet October has the Mississippi's tributaries running bankfull.

The Obion River at Obion reached 31.97 feet Sunday and has begun falling. Flood stage is 32 feet.

Weather observer Charles Nethery told WCMT radio he recorded 11.3 inches of rain in October at his home in Martin, compared with 3.7 inches in October 2008.

In Memphis, The Commercial Appeal reported the month just ended was the wettest on record in the city, with 10.56 inches of rain in a month that has a 30-year average of 3.3 inches. The wet October followed a soggy September that featured more than twice the usual rainfall for that month.

United States Department of Agriculture statistics for Tennessee showed that only 8 percent of the cotton crop had been harvested by Oct. 26, compared with a five-year average of 66 percent.

With 32 percent of the soybeans in statewide, that harvest stood at half the average for the date.

Grain buyers say the wet fall has caused mold damage to soybeans and sapped the crop's oil content, lowering its value. The moisture content of much of the corn is high, meaning the crop must be dried before being stored.

In Dyer County, agriculture extension agent Tim Campbell noted crop yields are good for both corn and soybeans, but with harvest delayed, both crops are coming in at the same time and granaries are struggling to keep up with the volume.

Any redemption the harvest gets is likely to come this week in the form of better weather.

Sunny days and clear, cool nights were forecast through the weekend.

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