Warm, dry weather gave Iowa farmers 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending Sept. 16, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Activities for the week included harvesting hay, harvesting seed corn, chopping corn silage, harvesting corn for grain, harvesting soybeans and seeding cover crops.
Topsoil moisture levels statewide rated 1 percent very short, 5 percent short, 84 percent adequate and 10 percent surplus. Levels in west central Iowa rated 3 percent short, 93 percent adequate and 4 percent surplus.
Subsoil moisture levels statewide rated 3 percent very short, 7 percent short, 77 percent adequate and 13 percent surplus. South central Iowa topsoil moisture supplies rated 75 percent adequate to surplus for the second consecutive week. West central Iowa levels rated 3 percent short, 87 percent adequate, and 10 percent surplus.
Ninety-four percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage or beyond, a week ahead of the 5-year average. Fifty-three percent of the corn crop was mature, just more than a week ahead of average. Corn condition rated 73 percent good to excellent.
Eighty-three percent of the soybean crop was coloring with 50 percent dropping leaves, eight days ahead of average. Soybean condition rated 72 percent good to excellent.
The third cutting of alfalfa hay was 94 percent complete, a week behind the previous year. Pasture conditions rated 50 percent good to excellent. Warm and dry conditions helped dry out feedlots.
Iowa preliminary weather summary provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D, state climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – After a very wet beginning to September, Iowa had unseasonably dry conditions with no National Weather Service stations observing measurable rainfall during the reporting period; the average expected weekly rainfall is 0.79 inches.
Statewide temperatures were also warmer than normal, especially in northwestern Iowa. Average temperature departures were up to 11 degrees warmer than normal. Monday, Sept. 10, was unseasonably cool with average highs ranging from the low to upper 70s, up to four degrees below average. New Hampton (Chickasaw County) observed a high of 70 degrees, five degrees below normal. Waukon (Allamakee County) observed the week’s low temperature of 41 degrees.
A warming trend began Tuesday with temperatures rising into the upper 70s and lower 80s in Iowa’s northwestern two-thirds. Wednesday was unseasonably warm with highs in the low to mid-80s; Lowden (Cedar County) observed a high of 85 degrees, almost eight degrees above normal. High pressure continued to dominate Thursday into Friday, Sept. 13-14, allowing temperatures to remain above average.
The weekend was very warm across Iowa with high temperatures well above average along with increasing humidity. On Saturday highs ranged from the mid-80s into the low 90s, up to 17 degrees warmer than normal. Sunday, Sept. 16, was the warmest day of the week with low to mid-90s across much of western Iowa and upper 80s over the remaining portions of the state. Clarinda (Page County) observed the week’s high temperature of 95 degrees, almost 19 degrees above average.
