Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

Harvest was completed over the past few weeks, and most of the fall field work and fertilizer is also done. The weather this month has been very pleasant with above average temperatures and below average precipitation, which was a welcome change after a cold and wet October. The good news is there was some replenishment of soil moisture, which is now in much better shape than last fall. The top 5 feet of high-quality soil can hold 10 to 11 inches of moisture. The rain we had in Sep and Oct should have added at least 5 inches, so our soil (at rooting depth) should be about half full.

Corn yields were largely above average on high quality soil farms, but there was a lot of variability. The southern side of this region was especially variable. The farms that missed most of the early July rainfall had below average yields. Other farms attained their best corn crop ever. Top quality farms with strong fertility really excel during dry years compared to marginal farms, and this was the 4th drought impacted season in a row.

Soybean yields were also good to very good on most farms. I noticed soybean yields to be a little more consistent than corn. I think that’s because the early August rains were more consistent in this area than in July. The significant August rain saved the beans from a likely poor performance. There was still a wide range of outcomes, but most farmers were satisfied with their bean yields.