Southeast Iowa Crop Conditions

This is the last crop report of the season. Harvest is complete except for a few farms. We had 6 to 8 inches of snow before Thanksgiving, but warmer weather this week has melted most of it. It looks like tillage and anhydrous applications are done for the year due to the wet soil and frost. Typically in December we get some opportunity to install drainage tile (before frost is too thick). We also will continue applying dry fertilizer, manure, and lime for next year’s crop. Farmland is fairly saturated now, so we could easily have another wet spring to contend with.

Yields were extremely volatile this fall. Some farms brought in record levels while others triggered crop insurance claims. Drainage was the leading factor in yield determination this year. If your farm had drainage, it was able to be planted on time and likely did very well. Poorly drained farms were planted well past he ideal window and mostly yielded lower. There are always multiple factors that added to the yield this fall, some can be controlled and others are out of our control. 2019 was another challenging year on some farms that will hopefully prepare us for future success.

Crop updates will begin again next spring. We wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season.