Starting out behind in moisture
DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey on April 7commented on the Iowa Crops and Weather report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service. The report is released weekly from April through October.
“Farmers, like everyone else, are ready for some more warm weather that will allow them to get out in the fields and prepare for the growing season,” Northey said.
The complete weekly report is 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: Warmer temperatures allowed some farmers to do fieldwork during the week ending April 6, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide there were 1.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Farmers in west central Iowa had 3.2 days suitable for fieldwork.
Topsoil moisture levels statewide rated 8 percent very short, 30 percent short, 57 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. Topsoil is lagging in west central Iowa, rated 10 percent very short, 40 percent short, 49 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus.
Subsoil moisture levels statewide rated 16 percent very short, 44 percent short, 39 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus. West central Iowa is lagging there also, at 25 percent very short, 48 percent short, 26 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus. Frost was still in the ground in most parts of the state, allowing little moisture to absorb to subsoil levels.
Seven percent of oats have been planted, 2 percent behind last year and 22 percent behind average. Pasture condition rated 19 percent very poor, 27 percent poor, 35 percent fair, 19 percent good and 0 percent excellent. Most pastures were dormant or just starting to turn color.
IOWA PRELIMINARY WEATHER SUMMARY: Iowa experienced typically variable early spring weather over the past week. The reporting week began with temperatures above normal on Sunday and Monday, March 30-31, with high temperatures in the 60’s northeast and 70’s southwest both days. However, a strong cold front entered northwest Iowa late Monday morning and passed through all of the state by that evening. Light rain fell across most of the state on Monday but with amounts mostly under one-tenth of an inch. Cooler than normal weather prevailed for the remainder of the reporting week. The week’s heaviest precipitation fell on Thursday. April 3, with early morning thunderstorms bringing slightly more than an inch of rain to far southeastern Iowa while snow fell across the northwest one-half of the state. Keokuk Airport and Burlington reported the most rain with 1.33 inches while greatest snow amounts were reported at Sibley (7.8 inches) and near Cleghorn (9.0 inches). Morning low temperatures on Saturday, April 5, fell to 16 degrees at Audubon and Atlantic. However, Saturday afternoon temperatures rose to the low 50’s north to low 60’s west. Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged 3.4 degrees below normal. Weekly precipitation totals varied from only 0.05 inches at Indianola to 1.38 inches at the Keokuk Airport. The statewide average precipitation was 0.40 inches or about two-thirds of the weekly normal of 0.64 inches.
This was the 18th week among the past 21 weeks with below normal precipitation and below normal temperatures. The topsoil has thawed throughout the state but considerable frost remains at depth over parts of the northern one-half of the state.
~by Harry Hillaker, state climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship
