For Immediate Release: Monday, Sept. 17, 2018
DES MOINES – Iowa
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today commented on the Iowa Crop Progress
and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical
Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.
“A
dry week of weather allowed farmers to get back into fields to make hay, chop
silage and start harvest, with two percent corn and soybeans now harvested. With
53 percent of corn now mature and 50 percent of soybeans dropping leaves, we
will likely see the harvest advance even more quickly as long as conditions
allow,” Naig said.
The
weekly report is also available on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land
Stewardship’s website at www.IowaAgriculture.gov or on USDA’s
site at www.nass.usda.gov/ia. The report
summary follows here:
CROP
REPORT
Warm,
dry weather gave Iowa farmers 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork during the week
ending September 16, 2018, according to the USDA, National Agricultural
Statistics Service. Activities for the week included harvesting hay, harvesting
seed corn, chopping corn silage, harvesting corn for grain, harvesting soybeans
and seeding cover crops.
Topsoil
moisture levels rated 1 percent very short, 5 percent short, 84 percent
adequate and 10 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 3 percent very
short, 7 percent short, 77 percent adequate and 13 percent surplus. South
central Iowa topsoil moisture supplies rated 75 percent adequate to surplus for
the second consecutive week.
Ninety-four
percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage or beyond, a week ahead of
the 5-year average. Fifty-three percent of the corn crop was mature, just over
a week ahead of average. Corn condition rated 73 percent good to excellent.
Eighty-three percent of the soybean crop was coloring with 50 percent dropping
leaves, 8 days ahead of average. Soybean condition rated 72 percent good to
excellent.
The
third cutting of alfalfa hay was 94 percent complete, a week behind the
previous year. Pasture conditions rated 50 percent good to excellent. Warm and
dry conditions helped dry out feedlots.
IOWA PRELIMINARY
WEATHER SUMMARY
By
Dr. Justin Glisan, State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land
Stewardship
After
a very wet beginning to September, Iowa had unseasonably dry conditions with no
National Weather Service stations observing measurable rainfall during the
reporting period; the average expected weekly rainfall is 0.79 inches.
Statewide temperatures were also warmer than normal, especially in northwestern
Iowa. Average temperature departures were up to 11 degrees above normal. Monday
(10th) was unseasonable cool with average highs ranging from the low to upper
70s, up to four degrees below average. New Hampton (Chickasaw County) observed
a high of 70 degrees, five degrees below normal. Waukon (Allamakee County)
observed the week’s low temperature of 41 degrees. A warming trend began
Tuesday (11th) with temperatures rising into the upper 70s and lower 80s in
Iowa’s northwestern two-thirds. Wednesday (12th) was unseasonably warm with
highs in the low to mid-80s; Lowden (Cedar County) observed a high of 85
degrees, almost eight degrees above normal. High pressure continued to dominate
Thursday (13th) into Friday (14th) allowing temperatures to remain above
average. The weekend was very warm across Iowa with high temperatures well
above average along with increasing humidity. On Saturday (15th) highs ranged
from the mid-80s into the low 90s, up to 17 degrees warmer than normal. Sunday
(16th) was the warmest day of the week with low to mid-90s across much of
western Iowa and upper 80s over the remaining portions of the state. Clarinda (Page
County) observed the week’s high temperature of 95 degrees, almost 19 degrees
above average.
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For more information, contact Dustin Vande Hoef, (515) 281-3375 or (515) 326-1616 (cell) or Dustin.VandeHoef@IowaAgriculture.gov
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