Drier weather is offering Iowa farmers a chance to resume fieldwork after wet conditions left corn and soybean harvests well behind their five-year averages.
The USDA’s weekly Crop Progress and Condition Report shows just 1.2 days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 4. Statewide, seven percent of corn and five percent of soybeans had been harvested.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said improving weather should help, although some fields will need additional drying time.
“After a historically wet September, we finally got a stretch of dry weather. The warmer temperatures and sunshine are helping fields dry down, though some of the wetter areas are going to need several more days before equipment can roll,” Naig said.
Corn and Soybean Harvests Lag Behind Average
Corn harvest was 13 percentage points behind the five-year average, while soybean harvest trailed by 33 percentage points.
Crop development also remained behind normal. Eighty-five percent of corn had reached maturity, three percentage points behind the five-year average. Eighty-one percent of soybeans were dropping leaves, nine points behind average.
Corn condition was rated 72 percent good to excellent, with soybeans at 70 percent. Pasture condition was rated 69 percent good to excellent.
Excess moisture remained widespread. Topsoil moisture was rated 45 percent surplus, 54 percent adequate, and one percent short. Subsoil moisture was rated 34 percent surplus, 61 percent adequate, and five percent short.
Sheldon Records State’s Lowest Weekly Rainfall
Rainfall varied sharply across Iowa, according to State Climatologist Justin Glisan’s weekly weather summary.
Sheldon recorded just six-hundredths of an inch, the lowest reported weekly precipitation total in the state. Portsmouth recorded the highest total at 6.49 inches.
The statewide average was 1.99 inches, compared with the normal weekly amount of 0.74 inch.
Spencer Municipal Airport recorded Iowa’s lowest temperature of the week at 34 degrees on October 2, ten degrees below normal. Despite that chilly reading, the statewide average temperature was 61.8 degrees, four degrees above normal.
Sunshine, gusty southerly winds, and lower humidity helped promote drying as the reporting period ended.
“The good news is the forecast looks favorable, with warmer and drier conditions expected over the next week, and that will give farmers a window to make some progress in the field,” Naig said in the October 5 release.
