Iowa Corn Beginning to Silk, Soybeans Blooming Ahead of Normal

By Cami Koons

Across the state of Iowa, approximately 2% of planted corn acres are beginning to silk, and 13% of soybean acres are blooming, which is five days ahead of the five-year average, according to the Crop Progress and Condition report. 

The report, put out weekly by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, showed Iowa corn rated 83% good to excellent and soybeans rated 77% good to excellent. 

Iowa’s oat crop also rated highly with 85% good or excellent. Nearly all oats in the state, 81%, have headed and 27% are coloring. The first cutting of alfalfa hay was nearly completed during the reporting period from June 16–June 22. Twenty-four percent of the second cutting is complete.

The state had an average precipitation of 1.82 inches during the reporting period, which was about six-tenths of an inch above the normal. Some areas of the state had higher precipitation for the reporting period, like Mason City which accumulated 4.41 inches — the most for the week.

Soil moisture conditions improved slightly from last week, on average 73% of topsoil moisture was adequate, and just 16% of topsoil was short of moisture. Subsoil moisture for the state as a whole rated 65% adequate and 21% short.

Soil moisture conditions were the worst in southern regions, in particular the southwest region, and also rated poorly in northwest and west central portions of the state.

Temperatures across Iowa were high during the reporting period, with an average of 76° Fahrenheit, which is nearly 5° above normal, according to State Climatologist Justin Glisan. 

“Exceedingly warm daytime temperatures in concert with high dewpoints and sustained strong southerly winds produced anomalous conditions not seen at many locations in the observational record,” Glisan wrote in the preliminary weather summary for the state. 

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the hot, humid, and windy conditions from the past week “really made it feel like summer.” 

“Some areas across north-central Iowa received several inches of rain with other locations receiving uninvited hail and high winds,” Naig said. “The warmer temperatures and increased chances for rain are likely to continue through the end of the month.”

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