Northeast Iowa farmers play catch-up with planting this week after a wet April

Many Iowa crop farmers have been ahead of the typical planting schedule this year because of favorable weather, according to federal ag officials.

But that's not the case in much of northeast Iowa, which was pummeled by more than 3 inches of rain in a week late last month. It was the 16th-wettest April on record for that part of the state, according to Iowa State University data.

Many of the delayed farmers finally had suitable planting conditions this week.

"They're putting the hammer down pretty hard," said Josh Michel, an ISU Extension field agronomist who monitors the northeast corner of the state, and also Linn County. "I think we're gonna get caught up, and they might even get most of the fields finished off."

As of Sunday about half of the state's corn crop had been planted, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Farmers generally started planting corn as early as April 10 — the earliest date to be eligible for federal crop insurance replanting payments if their young plants are damaged.

Their progress so far this year has varied widely, depending on where they are located. About 71 percent of northwest Iowa corn had been planted by the start of this week, whereas just 19 percent had been planted in northeast Iowa.

The situation was similar with soybeans: nearly half of northwest Iowa beans have been planted, but just 17 percent for northeast Iowa.

Farmers have less than two weeks to finish planting to avoid yield losses associated with late-planted crops, according to ISU research.

"Everything's pretty well on track," Michel said. "There's still plenty of time yet."

Drought dwindles

Almost all of the north half of the state had some measure of drought at the start of the year, according to U.S. Drought Monitor reports.

That level of dryness is now confined to small scattered areas, including portions of Dubuque and Jackson counties in eastern Iowa.

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A wet spring last year helped end a nearly four-year drought in the state, its longest in about 70 years.

But dry conditions returned. By October, about 88 percent of the state had some level of drought. That number has dwindled to less than 7 percent in recent weeks.

There is a stout amount of available soil moisture for growing crops, a Monday USDA report said. About 88 percent of the state's topsoil and 78 percent of subsoil had adequate or surplus moisture.

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