Cool, cloudy week leaves most farmers waiting to harvest

Cool, cloudy weather over the past week didn't help much in drying Iowa's unharvested crops.

Temperatures for the week ending Sunday, Sept. 25, averaged 5.1 degrees below normal, according to the USDA's weekly Iowa Crops & Weather Report. Despite frequent cloud cover, rainfall statewide averaged only 0.05 inches.

“Harvest has slowly started as many farmers continue to wait for corn moisture content to fall and for soybeans to reach full maturity,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said. “Hopefully dry weather this week will help and allow farmers to harvest without the need for much drying.”

The moisture content of the corn left to harvest dropped 2 percent from the previous week to average 27 percent moisture. The corn being harvested during the week averaged 23 percent moisture.

As of Sunday, 5 percent of the state's corn crop and 3 percent of the soybean crop have been harvested. The pace of the harvest is running behind the pace of the 2010 harvest, in which 9 percent of the corn and 7 percent of the soybeans had been harvested.

Reports of corn lodging declined from the the previous week. The report said ear droppage remains a larger problem than last year, but only 7 percent of the crop is experiencing moderate to heavy ear droppage.

In East Central Iowa, 79 percent of the corn crop was considered mature and safe from frost.

The corn crop's condition was rated 5 percent very poor, 10 percent poor, 29 percent fair, 44 percent good and 12 percent excellent.

The soybean crop was rated 3 percent very poor, 8 percent poor, 26 percent fair, 48 percent good and 15 percent excellent.