Corn planting finally getting started for many

Many Iowa farmers were finally able to get back into their fields for planting toward the end of last week, hoping to catch up on a planting schedule that's fallen far behind.

Only 1.7 days were suitable for field work in the past week, according to the weekly Iowa Crops & Weather report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Only 8 percent of the corn crop had been planted as of May 1,  compared to a five-year average of 48 percent. In East Central Iowa, only 5 percent of the corn was planted.

Planting was going the fastest in southwest Iowa, where 21 percent of the acreage was planted. It was going slowest in north central Iowa, where only 2 percent of the corn was planted.

“The weather has finally allowed farmers to begin planting in earnest, but many fields remain wet and as a result with only eight percent planted, progress remains well behind the five year average of 48 percent planted,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said.  “This continues to be one of the slowest corn planting seasons in the last ten years.  Let's hope the weather will cooperate this week so farmers can start to catch-up.”

Rainfall in the past week averaged 0.91 inches, slightly above the weekly normal of 0.86. Daily temperatures averaged 3.7 degrees below normal.

Field observers expected large increased in planting during the upcoming week, with most farmers back in their fields during Sunday's sunny wether.