Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

Our outlook for planting has improved dramatically from last week. Snow is still melting in the ditches and drifted-in areas, but our fields are open and warming up. High temperatures in the 60’s and low 70’s this week are helping dry and warm the soil. Our 6 to 10 day forecast is mostly dry with seasonable to warm temps, but the 8 to 14 day outlook shows a return to below average temps.

Corn planting is behind normal schedule at this point, but we are not too concerned. The general rule of thumb for planting corn: first soil conditions must be fit (not too wet), soil temps should be over 50 degrees,and ideally we like soil temps to continue trending warmer several days after planting. I believe we will reach this threshold on well drained farms by this weekend (April 28). Some areas farther west of Storm Lake could start even sooner. Unless we get an unexpected major rain event, most corn could be planted by May 10th, which is similar to last year.

Even after one of the coldest and most snow packed Aprils, we still have the potential for a great start to this crop. The soil moisture levels are full or nearly full which is important for Western Iowa. Now we just need more warm weather and sunshine.