Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

Harvest started recently on a few farms with early maturity soybeans or high moisture corn for livestock feed. Most crops in this area aren’t quite ready yet. I expect more harvest activity this week, but significant rain is forecast for late this week and early next week. We are probably at least 10 days away from widescale harvest. The rain will no longer be a significant help to this year’s crop, but it’s needed to start rebuilding soil moisture for next season. The two-week outlook shows warmer than average temperatures will continue with slightly better than average chances of rain.

Corn is generally at full maturity now or very close. Moisture levels range from over 30% to around 24%, which is fairly dry for this time of year. Some early varieties, especially in well-drained soil, or areas with more severe drought stress have already dried below that range. It will be important to harvest those areas first if possible because the stalk strength is likely compromised because of the stress. Corn yields will have a wide range in this region from top to bottom, but I think overall the crop is about average which is similar to last year.

Soybeans are turning color quickly. The early maturity beans should be ready to harvest over the next 10 days, but rain could extend that timeline. Full season beans are still mostly green, so they won’t be ready until the first or second week of October. Some fields (or areas in fields) are turning prematurely from drought stress or plat diseases like sudden death syndrome, brown stem rot, and white mold.