Harvest Wrapping Up for Some Farmers Across Iowa

By Cami Koons

Iowa farmers are near the end of harvest season for corn and soybean crops following yet another week of above-average temperatures in the state. 

While crop progress and condition reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have not been issued since the start of the current government shutdown, reports from past years show farmers are typically more than halfway done with corn harvest and more than 80% complete with soybean harvest at this point in October. 

In 2024, Iowa farmers had harvested 68% of corn acres and 91% of soybean acres for the mid-October reporting period. 

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in a statement that harvest was “on pace this year and maybe even a little ahead of schedule.” 

Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman, who farms organic corn and beans in northern Polk County, said he finished his harvest last week. He said his harvest “came early” because of disease pressure, largely Southern corn rust, that made the corn mature and dry down quicker than usual. 

“Those same issues meant that the top end of our yields was taken away by that disease pressure,” Lehman said. 

He said he has heard similar reports from other farmers — they’re out harvesting lots of corn, but yields are down. 

Soybean yields for Lehman, and he said for other farmers he has spoken to, have been “really strong.” 

Lehman said while his farm had some precipitation in the past week, he has heard from a lot of farmers that their fields are drier than they would like for them to be heading into the winter season. 

A climate report Monday from State Climatologist Justin Glisan said stations across the state reported showers of a couple of tenths of an inch of rain to a little over 1 inch of rain throughout the week. The statewide average precipitation was 0.55 inch for the week. 

Glisan also reported temperatures were unseasonably warm during the past week. The statewide average temperature was 61.4°F, which is 10°F above the climatological normal. Some areas of the state, mostly in the southern regions, saw positive departures from the normal as much as 14°F. 

Iowans can expect similar precipitation amounts in the coming week and slightly cooler, though still warmer than normal temperatures, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service. 

Trade Tensions in the Ag Market 

Lehman said his soybean market, as an organic producer whose product usually stays domestic, is fairly normal this year. 

He said, however, that most Iowa Farmers Union members don’t grow organic soybeans and are seeing fluctuating prices that are “way below” the cost of production. 

“For every bushel we’re producing, we’re anticipating we’re losing money,” Lehman said. “To be honest, if the goal is to get to more trade deals that are more fair for farmers and workers, we’re not seeing any progress on that front.” 

Trade war tensions between the U.S. and China are one of the major issues plaguing the soybean industry this season. China, which is usually the largest soybean buyer in the world, has not purchased any soybeans this year from the U.S. 

President Donald Trump has said he will provide aid to farmers who have suffered from the decrease in trade, but exact details have not been made public. Some reports have said the funding will come from a combination of the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation fund and from the revenue the U.S. has accumulated from imposing tariffs on other countries. 

Lehman said a bailout from the government would be a “small bandage on a large wound.” 

“In addition to that, the long-term damage that comes from this trade policy is very concerning,” Lehman said. “Farmers, for years, have been working to build up trade markets around the world by being reliable trade partners. Having a chaotic trade policy means that we lose some customers that don’t come back anytime soon … a trade bailout package can’t fix that in any meaningful way.” 

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: [email protected]. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.