Iowa’s wettest week of the year, with especially heavy rains in northern Iowa, limited fieldwork during the week ending Sept 11, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide there were just 3.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Producers reported seeing corn stalk rot and stress on soybeans due to excessive moisture. Activities for the week included chopping corn for silage, seed corn harvest and cutting hay.
Topsoil moisture levels statewide rated 1 percent very short, 3 percent short, 86 percent adequate and 10 percent surplus. Levels in west central Iowa were 1 percent short, 92 percent adequate and 7 percent surplus.
Subsoil moisture levels statewide rated 1 percent very short, 6 percent short, 84 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus. Levels in west central Iowa were 1 percent very short, 9 percent short, 84 percent adequate and 6 percent surplus.
Ninety percent (88 percent in WC Iowa) of the corn crop reached the dent stage or beyond, five days ahead of the five-year average. Twenty-nine percent (22 percent) of corn had reached maturity, three days ahead of last year, but one day behind average. Corn condition rated 83 percent good to excellent.
Sixty-two percent (54 percent) of soybeans have started to turn color, two days ahead of last year’s pace. Nineteen percent (11 percent) of soybeans were dropping leaves, three days ahead of average. Soybean condition rated 82 percent good to excellent.
The third cutting of alfalfa hay was 91 percent complete, two weeks ahead of last year. Producers in several parts of the state have been working on a fourth cutting of hay. Especially green and productive for late summer, pasture condition improved slightly to 65 percent good to excellent. Livestock conditions were reported as excellent although there were a few reports of muddy feedlots.
Iowa preliminary weather summary by Harry Hillaker, state climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship – Iowa recorded its wettest week of the year with two statewide rain events. The larger rain event of the week occurred between Tuesday night and Thursday morning, Sept. 6-8, with heaviest rains occurring across eastern Iowa with 5.42 inches at Bluffton (Winneshiek Co.) and 4.54 inches at De Witt.
The other statewide event came between Friday morning and Saturday morning, Sept. 9-10, with heaviest rains falling over northeast Iowa where Clarksville picked up 4.26 inches. Additionally rain was widespread over northwest and north central Iowa on Sunday night into Monday morning, Sept. 4-5, with much of the northwestern corner of the state picking up one to two inches of moisture.
Rain totals for the week varied from 0.43 inches at Clarinda to 7.71 inches at Bluffton. The statewide average precipitation was 2.32 inches while normal for the week is 0.84 inches.
The statewide average rainfall total has been above normal for nine of the past 12 weeks.
Meanwhile temperatures were well above normal from Sunday through Thursday. A cold front moved across Iowa on Friday with much cooler weather prevailing over the weekend. Temperature extremes for the week varied from a Tuesday afternoon high of 94 degrees at Burlington to Sunday morning lows of 45 degrees at Elkader, Manchester and Stanley Sept. 11. Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged 5.1 degrees above normal.
