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Iowa’s crops are looking good

It was another good week for Iowa’s corn and soybean crops.

Rain fell over a good portion of the state. One to two inches were common, but some areas received even more with over five inches reported at Denison and Coon Rapids.  However, the northeast one-third of Iowa is still waiting for a substantial rain.

“Those who missed out on the recent rains would welcome some precipitation to help finish both the corn and bean crop,” says Iowa secretary of agriculture Bill Northey.

Over half of Iowa’s corn acreage was in the dough stage or beyond, a week ahead of the five-year average.  Over three-quarters of the soybean acreage was setting pods or beyond, slightly ahead of average.  Seventy-six percent of corn and 75 percent of the soybeans were rated good to excellent.

Oat harvest for grain was 87 percent complete, six points behind the normal pace.

The third cutting of alfalfa hay advanced to 22 percent complete, just over one week behind normal.  Sixty-six percent of all hay was rated in good to excellent condition.  Pasture condition decreased for the fourth week in a row and now stands at 58 percent good to excellent.