Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

Most of the planning activity was finished up during the first week in June, but there are still farms not planted along the Big Sioux River bottoms or poor drainage areas in the northern part of this region. Planting this late will limit yield potential, but the weather during the second half of the growing season will also have an influence good or bad. Many of the farms intended to go to corn that didn’t get planted will sit idle. The “prevent plant” provision in multi-peril
insurance coverage allows for a payment of 60% of the revenue guarantee. Farms intended to go to soybeans may still get planted all the way to early July.

Crop conditions differ depending on the area and planting date. The best crops in this region are on rolling loess soils with natural drainage or the well tiled farms. In both cases the excess water can drain away. Farms with good drainage have had a big advantage in recent years. The corn and soybeans that were able to be planted on time have good potential for the most part,even though they are still behind schedule from cool temps. To finish the season with the best
possible outcome, we need warm enough weather to mature the crop before the first freeze,but not an intense switch to hot and dry as that would also be problematic for corps with
shallow, underdeveloped roots.

Corn planted on the earlier side this year is now 10 to 14 inches tall and looks fairly good (a little
uneven in places). Often times we have corn in the 3 to 4 foot range by now.

Earlier planted soybeans are now 4 to 6 inches, and the late planted soybeans are still emerging.