Rural Iowa — Field fires due to dry conditions seem to be the only thing slowing down the Iowa harvest.
The USDA Crop report shows farmers increased the soybean harvest in the last week by 31 percent for a total now of 58 percent of the beans in the bin. That is four days ahead of last year and one week ahead of the average. The amount of corn now harvested doubled last week to 22 percent. That is one day ahead of normal and just two days behind last year. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says he’s heard good things from farmers in the fields.
He says the wet weather lasted long enough to help farmers out.
Naig says the amount of rain and yields can vary quite a bit, and there will be some areas of the state that might not see the good yields.
Here in northwest Iowa, the weekly report says 85 percent of corn is mature, with 21 percent harvested. It says 90 percent of soybean plants have dropped their leaves and 65 percent of those have been harvested already.
Moisture-wise, northwest Iowa topsoil is 63 percent short to very short, with 37 percent adequate and zero percent surplus.
Underground, the subsoil moisture in northwest Iowa is rated 55 percent short or very short, 45 percent adequate, and zero percent surplus.
