Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

Other than a few scattered showers, conditions remained excessively dry for crops most of July and all of August. Crops took a hit this month. This year was one of the driest Augusts for at least 15 years, and to make matters worse, it was also one of the hottest
Augusts. The last major drought in this area was in 2012. The main difference this year was much better soil moisture to start the season. 2012 drought was at its worst in July then moderated in August, while this year the drought was worse in August (for this area
at least). If we don’t recharge the soil moisture before next season, the 2021 crop will be quite vulnerable. The extended outlook remains dry but is much cooler. The cool weather should slow crop progress down a little.

Corn matured too quickly in August because of warm temperatures. This along with alack of rainfall has reduced yield potential. Most corn is nearing maturity well ahead of schedule and turning brown already. Corn fields that made it through July in good shape should still have a decent crop. However, fast maturing corn may have lower test weight.High quality soil, good fertility, timely field operations, and a little luck catching the few scattered rain showers will make a big difference this year. Any weakness has shown up as crop stress this year. There will be a lot of variability at harvest this year, which will start on some farms in the next week or two.

Soybeans are also ahead of schedule. Most fields are starting to turn color. A rain would still help some of the beans, but time is quickly running out. It seems the timing of the drought this year was the worst for soybeans. I expect the harvested beans will be small
this year. Similar to corn, farms with the best water holding capacity & a few more lucky rains should be ok. Overall, I do not anticipate a very impressive bean crop. I expect harvest will start around mid-September.

Declining crop conditions and strong export sales have pushed grain markets higher recently.