Statewide, Iowa — Some Iowa corn fields were battered or knocked over by last week’s storms and ISU Extension Field Agronomist Gentry Sorenson says over the next few days, the upper stalk of the corn may start to shift.
Goose necked corn creates headaches during harvest, as the corn cobs fall or break off before they’re captured by the combine. The latest Iowa crop and weather report indicates the vast majority of Iowa’s corn crop is in good shape.
The latest USDA analysis indicates there were pockets of crop damage from the derecho that swept through northern Iowa last week, but the report does not offer any estimate of the damage. Eighty-one percent of the corn crop is rated in good or excellent condition. As for Iowa’s soybean conditions: 79 percent in the good or excellent category. The storms that rolled through dropped rain on parched areas of the state. The state climatologist says the statewide average precipitation last week was over two inches — twice what’s normal this time of year. Spirit Lake recorded the most rainfall for the past week — more than six inches.
