Farm fields get an almost perfect July

After a tough start to growing season, crops are looking good

By Bob Fenske, New Hampton Tribune

Considering where farmers started this planting season, they have to be happy with where they are at as August nears.

“Right now, the crops are looking very nice, almost perfect,” said ISU Extension Agronomist Terry Basol.

“We went through a lot the first couple of months, but we have a chance to bring in some really nice soybean and corn yields. … From where we started and with all the rain we got in June, I didn’t think a lot of the guys thought they’d be where they’re at right now.”

That start to the planting season was, in a word, ugly.

The April snows pushed back planting and June was filled with both heat and rain; in fact, some Floyd and Chickasaw county areas received more than 10 inches of rain that month, more than double the usual amount.

Basol, though, said July was a godsend for crops.

He pointed out that cooler temperatures have helped corn and soybeans “slow down” and that the stresses plants were dealing with in June have largely gone away.

“It’s greatly helped the corn but it’s been good for both,” Basol said. “From where we were even a month ago, it is pretty amazing to me. This weather right now is perfect because it lets the corn plant assimilate the dry matter in kernels without a lot of stress. We could see some really nice yields if this keeps up.”

In June, though, Basol said he was starting to wonder about 2018.

The sheer amount of rain — coupled with the heat — left fields days, even weeks, behind schedule.

“Our farmers were getting frustrated to say the least, and I didn’t blame them,” he said. “The window to get field work done was so incredibly short and it kept closing on them. … But we’re catching up to the normal now. I always say this – a lot can happen — but we’re sitting very good right now.”

All that spring snow and early summer rain is now paying dividends.

In the latest USDA Iowa Crop Progress and Conditions report, 98 percent of northeast Iowa soil moisture levels are either adequate or have a surplus. Compare that to south central Iowa, where 67 percent of soil moisture levels are either short or “very short” and one can see why Basol said “our crops are probably the best in the state right now.”

“Again, we need to get through August and not have an early frost — two things I also say every year — but we’re looking good,” he said. “Now, if we could just get prices looking as good as fields, it really would be perfect.”