The crop report provided this week by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is a good news/bad news report.
The good news is that statewide there were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork, allowing soybean planting and crops to progress rapidly.
For the first time this season, both corn and soybean acreage planted were above the five year average. Statewide, 96 percent of the expected corn acreage was planted (99 percent in west central Iowa), 13 percentage points ahead of last year and 1 percentage point more than average. Eighty-four percent of the corn has emerged in west central Iowa.
Soybean planting progress doubled to 80 percent complete statewide (87 percent in west central Iowa), 5 percentage points above average. Twenty-four percent of the soybeans have emerged in west central Iowa.
The bad news is that topsoil moisture levels declined with below normal rainfall. Topsoil moisture levels statewide rated 2 percent very short, 14 percent short, 77 percent adequate and 7 percent surplus. Topsoil moisture levels in west central Iowa rated 1 percent very short, 19 percent short, 73 percent adequate and 7 percent surplus.
Subsoil moisture levels statewide rated 7 percent very short, 25 percent short, 63 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. In west central Iowa subsoil moisture levels rate 8 percent very short, 34 percent short, 48 percent adequate and 10 percent surplus. Northwest Iowa was the driest with more than 40 percent of topsoil and 60 percent of subsoil moisture very short to short.
Weather: According to IDALS state climatologist Harry Hillaker, temperature extremes for the week in Iowa ranged from morning lows of 40 degrees at Cresco and Elkader Friday, May 23, to afternoon highs of 89 degrees at Sioux City on May 21 and at Burlington and Donnellson on May 21.
Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged from 1 to 2 degrees above normal east to 4 to 5 degrees above normal west with a statewide average of 2.6 degrees above normal.
Weekly precipitation totals varied from none in many locations to a maximum of 3.1 inches at Ames. The statewide average precipitation was 0.29 inches, or only about one-fourth of the normal 1.05 inches. This was the lowest statewide total in 10 weeks. Moderate to heavy rain fell across parts of west central and southwest Iowa during the latter part of the Memorial Day weekend. Those rainfall figures will be in next week’s report.
Volunteer weather observer John Beltz reported a total of .32 inches of rain during the week that ended Friday, May 23, at 6 am. That came as .31 inches on May 21 and .01 on May 20. Beltz reported a low temperature of 34 degrees May 17 and May 18, and a high temperature of 86 degrees on May 21.
