Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

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Harvest is just getting started, especially in the southern half of this territory. Areas farther north are a week or two behind. The harvest progress is about right on schedule for late September. The two-week weather outlook calls for more warm and dry weather, so I expect soybean harvest to progress rapidly over the next two weeks. The bulk of corn harvest should start by mid-October, which is typical. The dry, warm weather speeds up crop maturity and harvest progress. There is no major freeze threat in the forecast, which is a good thing for the late planted or late maturity soybeans. A widespread rain would be welcome this fall to rebuild soil moisture for next spring and reduce fire risk during harvest.

Soybean harvest is only around 5% to 10% completed in this area. Generally, yields have been good so far, but the late planted or replanted beans farther north will bring down the average. Farms with drainage challenges were at a major disadvantage this season. The warm & dry weather at the end of the growing season reduced the beans size, especially at the top pods or in areas with lighter soil. Also, soybean aphids and some diseases were a bigger problem this year. Despite all the issues, I expect many soybean yields will still be good to very good.

Corn harvest started on a few farms, but mostly just high moisture corn or silage so far. Some early maturity corn is already down under 20% moisture which is dry for late September, but most of the corn is still over 25% moisture. Farmers will normally start corn harvest as soon as the beans are done depending on the weather. Moisture levels should be reasonable by the second week of October. The corn yields on farms with good drainage, were planted on time, had enough nitrogen to last through the season, and were treated with a fungicide should be good to excellent. But the record high rainfall in parts of the territory this spring made all those factors a big challenge. Overall, we have a good corn crop in this region but with a lot of variability.