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Iowa welcomes drier weather

Iowa farmers welcomed drier weather last week, which allowed them to get back in the fields. Activities for the week included herbicide applications, replanting drowned-out crops, and cutting hay.

“The drier weather last week was very welcome as it allowed farmers to start getting back in the fields to get needed work done,” says Bill Northey, Iowa secretary of agriculture.  “Much of the crop remains in good to excellent condition even as some of the damage from the extremely wet weather and strong storms earlier in the growing season was becoming even more apparent.”

As of Sunday, 76 percent of corn and 73 percent of soybeans were rated in good to excellent condition, both unchanged from the previous week. Twenty-six percent of the corn acreage was silking and 45 percent of soybeans were blooming, both near normal for mid-July.

The second cutting of alfalfa hay was 27 percent complete and 68 percent of all hay was rated in good to excellent condition. Pasture condition rated 75 percent good to excellent.