Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

The driest parts of this territory finally caught some much-needed rain recently. It’s hard to say how much yield was lost from drought in those areas, but I think it will be comparable to the past two years (in the dry areas). Farms with heavy soil should be fine but areas with light soil may have losses. Most of this region is actually in better shape compared to recent years with close to normal rainfall over the past 60 days, above average heat units, and at the same time fewer stress days of temps over 90 degrees. The outlook for late-July from the National Weather Service is a little warmer than average with normal chances of rainfall. I’d prefer temperatures stay average or below during that time to maximize grain fill, but still, it looks like this area is set up for a decent crop.

Most corn is starting to tassel now. Pollination over the next week or so will determine the number of kernels that can develop. It was excellent timing to catch a rain this week. Corn conditions are currently average or better on most farms. However, the uneven emergence and plant size we’ve noticed all season on many farms is still noticeable today with some plants tasseling well ahead of others. Most of the size variability was caused by differences in residue or tillage. It will be interesting to see how that affects yield this fall.

Soybean growth seems behind schedule on some farms, but others are typical size for this time of year. Overall, the beans are in good shape to this point. Weed control from the post-emerge applications was very good this season. We’ll see how it holds up into late July and August. Beans are flowering and will soon start making pods. For the next two months, beans will continue adding growth, flowers, and making pods all at the same time. We’ll need average rainfall or more in August to get an above average soybean crop.