While wet conditions across much of the state have slowed planting progress, farmers in Northwest Iowa appear to be ahead of the curve.
Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Leah Ten Napel says there has been solid planting progress in this corner of the state.
According to the USDA’s weekly crop progress report, there were only three days suitable for fieldwork across Iowa last week. Corn planting statewide increased from 1% to 2%, which is 14% behind where planting stood at this time in 2025.
Soybeans were reported in the ground for the first time this week. However, at one percent planted, that figure also trails the ten percent already planted at this point last year. Ten Napel says conditions in Northwest Iowa have been more favorable than in other parts of the state, with less moisture and more cooperative soil temperatures.
After a dry winter, subsoil moisture levels had been a concern heading into the spring. But Ten Napel says those levels in Northwest Iowa are in good shape.
She says those conditions put producers in a strong position as the planting season continues.
Last fall, subsoil moisture levels in Northwest Iowa were reported to be about average.
