Northwest Iowa — According to the latest US Drought Monitor information just released, the drought conditions we experienced in our area earlier this summer have all but subsided.
There is still an area covering most of O’Brien County except for the northeast corner, about the west half of Sioux County, southeast Lyon County and extreme southwest Osceola County that is still in an area called “abnormally dry,” but there is no area in the four counties that are in what the Drought Monitor actually calls “drought,” except for a very small area in extreme southeastern O’Brien County. That patch travels into Cherokee and Buena Vista counties and all the way south past Des Moines and into southern Iowa, where the drought is more extreme.
The latest crop report is in, and the news is mostly good. However there is still not much if any excess moisture.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says that farmers continue to gear up for another harvest and he says “We’re seeing more activity in fields across the state as about 15 percent of corn and 8 percent of soybeans have reached maturity.” He says that moving into harvest season, the crop is very variable across the state with 60 percent of corn and 61 percent of soybeans rated as good to excellent condition.
Here is the crop report:
It was another dry week in Iowa with only localized showers during the week ending September 10, 2017, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide there were 6.8 days suitable for fieldwork. Activities for the week included cutting hay, chopping corn for silage, seeding cover crops, hauling grain, and preparing for grain harvest.
Topsoil moisture levels rated 17 percent very short, 32 percent short, 51 percent adequate and 0 percent surplus. South central and southeast Iowa continue to be the driest parts of the state with over 80 percent of topsoil moisture rated short to very short. Subsoil moisture levels rated 19 percent very short, 34 percent short, 47 percent adequate and 0 percent surplus.
Seventy-six percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage or beyond, three days behind the 5-year average. Fifteen percent of corn had reached maturity, six days behind last year and eight days behind average. Corn condition rated 60 percent good to excellent. Forty-seven percent of soybeans were turning color, one day behind average. Eight percent of soybeans were dropping leaves, four days behind average. Soybean condition rated 61 percent good to excellent.
The third cutting of alfalfa hay was 95 percent complete, over one week ahead of last year. There were some reports of producers starting to cut their fourth crop of alfalfa. Pasture conditions declined to 41 percent poor to very poor due to continued dry conditions slowing growth. Livestock conditions remained good, with reports of cattlemen weaning calves.
Click here for the full crop report.
Click here for the latest US Drought Monitor information for Iowa.
