116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Corn and soybean planting leap ahead of schedule in Iowa
Favorable weather last week helped farmers overcome rain delays
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Farmers in northeast Iowa planted more corn and soybeans last week than in all of the three weeks prior, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Much of Iowa enjoyed a stretch of nearly ideal weather," Mike Naig, the state's agriculture secretary, said in his weekly dispatch about crops.
That helped accelerate planting that had lagged because of April rains, especially in the northeast corner of the state. A week ago, about 19 percent of corn and 17 percent of soybeans had been planted in that 11-county area, the USDA estimated.
As of Sunday, those percentages leaped to 56 percent of corn and 48 percent of soybeans.
This is a crucial time for farmers because research has shown sharp yield drop-offs for corn that is not planted within about the next week.
Statewide, about three-quarters of corn seed is in the ground, the USDA reported. That is about eight days ahead of last year's planting, which resulted in the highest-ever yields for Iowa corn farmers. They averaged about 211 bushels per acre.
The state was warmer and much drier than normal last week, according to State Climatologist Justin Glisan. Most of the state had no rain. That gave most farmers access to their fields for almost the entire week, but it also depleted some of the available soil moisture for growing crops.
Still, more than 70 percent of the state's topsoil and subsoil had adequate or surplus moisture as of Sunday, the USDA reported.
Linn County had by far the most rainfall last week, Glisan reported. Slightly more than an inch fell in Marion on Wednesday.
Jim O'Connell, who farms just west of Cedar Rapids, was nearing the end of his soybean planting on Monday. His corn is already planted.
"The ground was beautiful, planting the corn," he told The Gazette. "It's been really nice planting the beans, too. Plenty of moisture."
He said soil conditions are better than they have been in recent years, but that it's difficult to say how crop yields will be at harvest. Much can happen in the next four months.
The federal Climate Prediction Center said last month it expects drought to develop in the northeast quadrant of the state and in far western Iowa in the coming months.
Comments: (319) 368-8541; jared.strong@thegazette.com
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