It's been a frustrating spring in the fields for local farmers. The cool and wettest spring on record has also left slim pickings in some other area fields. Bruce Walcott from Mackinaw is digging deep into the plants trying to pick plush strawberries.

"It's a little sparse. They got too much water from talking with the owner. They're not as thick as they usually are," Walcott says.

86-year-old Byrl Austin is coming out on the short end with his two acres of strawberries in Tremont.

"The worst. No good. Bad crop. The worst crop I've had in 40 years believe it or not," Austin says.

Austin says he likes to get 5 tons of strawberries per acre. This year he's getting one ton an acre. You can actually see the dramatic drop because you see a lot of straw in his fields. If it were a good crop, you'd barely see any straw because it would be covered by the plant and berries.

"This patch behind me is one acre and I don't think we'll take in enough money to pay for the straw we put on to cover them up. And, straw sells for $2.50 a bale. That's how bad it is, believe it or not," Austin says.

Strawberries survive off sunshine and warm days. Two ingredients missing to make big berries this spring. But, it's the perfect weather to pick for the Schisler family from Morton.

"It was gorgeous because it was overcast and cool and sometimes it's really hot," Carolyn Schisler says.

Even though it may require more searching, pickers say these berries are still sweeter than store bought.

"These are perfect right here. They are still good. I eat one every once in awhile to find out," Austin says.

That's one way to swallow a soggy Spring. Byrl Austin says strawberry picking season will likely wrap up this weekend.

The latest statistics from the Illinois Ag Department shows corn planting is still not complete in the state. And, soybeans are also well behind schedule, the slowest in at least a decade.