Rain finally fell in many areas of the state this past week, but it wasn’t enough yet. “Iowans have experienced one of the driest starts to June on record,” says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig. “Timely and beneficial rain fell across parts of the state this weekend, bringing some relief after a long stretch of hot and dry days. Rainfall totals were not enough to make up for the precipitation deficits that have accumulated over the past year. The silver lining is that forecasts show a cooler and wetter pattern setting up over the next week as we enter a critical period for crop development.” Topsoil moisture levels are still 64 percent short to very short and subsoil moisture is at 69 percent short to very short. According to the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report, there were still six days suitable for fieldwork in the week ending June 20, which included spraying post emergence herbicides, side dressing nitrogen and harvesting hay. Crops are exhibiting signs of stress from that lack of adequate precipitation and the high temperatures. Corn conditions dropped seven percent over the past week to 56 percent good to excellent while soybeans were down four percentage points to 57 percent good to excellent. The full report can be found at nass.usda.gov.
