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Iowa farmer almost done planting, says more rain is needed

A southwest Iowa farmer is at the tail end of the 2023 planting season.

Dave McGargill raises corn and soybeans in Fremont County. “The beans we started about 10 days ago,” he said. “We still have about four days of bean planting left.”

He tells Brownfield he finished planting corn at the end of April. “A lot of the corn went in a 10-day period. But it was cool and wet, so everything has been slow coming out of the ground. Things are looking a lot better now.”

McGargill says subsoil moisture is a concern for the growing season. “If we don’t have some good soaking rains, we may have a short crop again this year.”

The southwestern corner of Iowa remains in the severe drought category on the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.