WAVERLY - Some of the most important people behind harvest never plant a seed or drive a combine.

Farmers are often the focal point in the fall. It's logical, since the public sees combines, tractors and grain trucks in fields and on roads day and night.

But farmers and crop experts say an army of support personnel are just as critical to get corn and soybeans out. Harvest is about a month behind schedule because of late-maturing crops and persistent rain.

With billions of dollars of grain still in the fields, deteriorating plants and winter looming, farmers will need a lot of help. Producers and crop experts say mechanics, tire technicians, electricians, elevator workers, ag retailers and a myriad of other people are the unsung heroes of harvest.

"Everything has to run smoothly," said Craig Chase, an Iowa State University Extension farm specialist in Northeast Iowa. "Anything from a flat tire to a broken dryer can be a bottleneck. That's where all these support people come to play. They're extremely important because downtime will kill you."

Normally, every soybean field would be plucked clean by now, and half the corn would be safely in bins or off to market.

The latest weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture Crops and Weather Report said nearly half the soybeans remain and 78 percent of the corn.

Farmers know the longer soybeans stay in the field, the more chance seeds will shatter and pods could drop. That's why Judith Roth of rural Janesville was thankful Norby's Fleet Farm on U.S. Business Highway 218 in Waverly had the combine parts she needed.

On Monday morning, it took her only a few minutes to purchase several sickle guards for the bean platform and couple bags of nuts and bolts. Harvest screeched to a halt for repairs.

"They're waiting for me right now," Roth said of her family, as she quickly swiped her debit card to pay for the parts. "They can't go unless they get the supplies."

And out the door she went.

Store Manager Nathan Ensign said keeping farmers in the fields is a priority - and good for business. The store's reputation of having what farmers need keeps them coming back, he said.

Store officials said they stock up on oil, grease, batteries, filters, hoses and other critical parts this time of year.

"Belts are ridiculously huge right now," Ensign said. "Sometimes I hear, 'I wish you were open later.'"

Businesses up and down 218 in town were busy Monday morning keeping farmers working. Down the road from Norby's at Waverly Tire Co., Landon Brown was replacing four rear tires and repairing a front one on a John Deere 8300 tractor to get it back in the field. With muddy conditions, traction was an issue, since the lugs were worn. Plus, he said the farmer didn't want to risk a blowout.

Brown may not till the land, but he considers himself part of the food chain, nonetheless. During harvest, he knows long hours are part of it.

"We're at six days a week," Brown said. "For me it's just part of my job."

Nearby, at Titan Machinery, service manager and mechanic Dennis Koehler said it's been one of the most challenging harvests in his 35 years with the company, formerly known as Smith International.

He said high-moisture corn is tough on combines, like slipped clutches. Twelve-plus hour days are common seven days a week for the shop's eight technicians.

"The morning is the wildest time when farmers have an issue over night. It's a rat race to get service trucks out the door," Koehler said. "We realize farmers are under the gun with the weather. We try the best we can to keep them going."

That means sacrifice on the part of agriculture's supporting cast.

"We try to accommodate family time," Koehler added. "The goal is to find a happy medium in treating employees fair and giving customers the service they deserve. That can be difficult."

On the east side of town, at Schneider's Milling Inc., a steady stream of semis and gravity wagons filled with corn rolled in on Monday. Farmers are combining one of the wettest crops in years, with corn ranging from 23 percent to 30 percent moisture.

Corn needs to be at 15 percent for long-term storage, so that means dryers are running day and night to keep harvest moving - weather permitting. Adam Schneider sometimes sleeps at the family business to monitor the system.

The 23-year-old said he would rather be out with friends on the weekend, but the farmers come first.

"Work first and play second," Schneider said. "Most people wouldn't like it, but you get used to it."