A warm and dry week made for excellent planting conditions, allowing 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 11, 2025, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Producers made quick progress planting corn and soybeans. In west central Iowa, 76 percent of the corn is planted and 34 percent has emerged. Sixty-one percent of the soybeans are planted with 10 percent emergence. Conditions were also favorable for spraying.
Topsoil moisture condition across the state rated 5 percent very short, 22 percent short, 70 percent adequate and 3 percent surplus. In west central Iowa topsoil moisture condition rated 8 percent very short, 20 percent short, 70 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus.
Six percent of the state’s first cutting of alfalfa hay has been completed. The first hay rating of the year showed 84 percent in good to excellent condition. Pasture condition rated 64 percent good to excellent, up 4 percentage points from last week. Livestock were reported to be in good condition with some cows and calves turned out on grass.
IOWA PRELIMINARY WEATHER SUMMARY provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., state climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – A stable blocking high pressure system brought unseasonable warmth across Iowa through the reporting period. Temperatures were 10 to 12 degrees warmer than normal in northwestern Iowa with a statewide average temperature of 54.8 degrees, 0.5 degree warmer than normal. Rainfall was generally sparse across the state, though southern and eastern Iowa stations did report measurable amounts.
Sunday afternoon, May 4, was pleasant with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s under sunny skies and light, variable winds. Skies remained generally clear into Monday with morning temperatures in the 40s and spotty clouds southeast. Easterly winds increased through the daylight hours with temperatures rising into the upper 70s in western Iowa with upper 60s farther east.
A southerly shifting wind held overnight lows into Tuesday, May 6, in the upper 40s and low 50s as starry skies persisted. Afternoon conditions were nice as temperatures climbed into the mid to upper 70s with low relative humidity. Wednesday morning dawned with cloudless skies, northerly winds and lows in the 50s. Daytime temperatures warmed into the 60s over southern Iowa as a warm front lifted north across Iowa. Winds north of the boundary remained northeasterly as southerly winds held over southern Iowa. With enough forcing and moisture near the surface front, westerly propagating thundershowers formed along a west-to-east line during the evening hours. Of the stations reporting rainfall, most locations observed less than a tenth of an inch. The highest totals were found in east-central Iowa, particularly in Linn County; amounts ranged from 0.29 inch in Cedar Rapids to 1.01 inches in Marion.
Cloud cover cleared through the nighttime hours with winds shifting easterly. Thursday morning, May 8, started with low temperatures in the 50s with cloudless skies. Afternoon conditions were again ideal with low dewpoint temperatures and highs in the 70s. Morning conditions on Friday were five to 10 degrees cooler than the prior day with high-level haze and light winds. There was a broad range of temperatures during the afternoon with mid 80s northwest to lows 70s southeast with variable winds statewide.
Winds shifted gradually from southerly to northerly into Saturday, May 10, as temperatures rose into the 80s and low 90s at a handful of stations. Even with warmer temperatures, anomalously low dewpoints created enjoyable conditions with ample sunshine; the statewide average high was 85 degrees, 16 degrees warmer than normal. Sunday began warmer than usual, also, with lows in the low 50s southeast to low 60s northwest. Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at many stations to 1.09 inches in Marion. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.05 inch; the normal is 1.00 inch. Ames (Story County) reported the week’s high temperature of 92 degrees on May 10, 23 degrees warmer than normal. Chariton (Lucas County) reported the week’s low temperature of 32 degrees on May 10, 10 degrees cooler than normal. Four-inch soil temperatures were in the upper 50s to low 70s east to west as of Sunday.
