Southeast Iowa Crop Conditions

May ended up being a difficult month to finish planting.  Rain events seemed to occur nearly as field conditions became fit for planting to resume.  This resulted in a wide planting window with some fields being planted in less-than-ideal conditions.  It is not uncommon to see a corn field nearly 4 feet tall near another field of corn that is 12 inches tall.  The same is true for soybeans (2 inches tall to 10 inches tall).  Generally, most farmers were able to get both their corn and soybeans planted before June 1^st.

The rain events slowed as we reached the first week of June with the majority of the rainfall this month occurring within the last week.  This window allowed farmers to replant poorer draining regions on their farms and to complete most of their planned post herbicide applications.  This stretch of weather was also conducive for hay production with many grass waterways or grasslands being baled.

Looking ahead, additional rainfall is expected in the short-term with drier weather on the horizon.