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Iowa Crops Looking Good, Mostly

Amy Mayer/IPR file

The USDA’s latest update of Iowa crop shows the state with areas of “haves” and “have-nots”.

Despite abundant rains with water standing in some north Iowa fields, the USDA says topsoil moisture is short-to-very-short in nearly a quarter of the state. 

But 76 percent of the state has adequate-to-surplus top soil moisture.

“I think we’re really dependent on timely rains still,” says Iowa State University Extension Agronomist Megan Anderson, who monitors 10 counties from Independence to Washington in east-central Iowa.   “Part of my area is still showing up on the drought monitor, and we’re just sort of waiting for that next rainfall to keep that corn crop going. Much of the corn is starting to pollinate now which is a very critical time for that corn.”

Anderson says high winds accompanying recent rain storms flattened corn fields over a wide area of eastern Iowa this past week.

“The majority of the corn that blew over was actually root lodged which means it basically fell over and the root system came out of the ground,” she says.  “And that corn will upright itself.  In fact, I would venture a guess that most of it has already uprighted itself.”  

Statewide, the USDA is rating 79 percent of Iowa’s corn acreage in good-to-excellent condition.  Seventy-seven percent of the soybean acreage gets the top rating.