Wet weather hampers crop planting, growth

With all the storms and rain this summer, growing conditions are far from ideal for Iowa corn farmers. State agriculture secretary Patty Judge says 96-percent of the crop has emerged, normally it’s 100-percent emerged by this time. Probably 50-percent of the corn is in poor or fair condition. Judge says barely half the corn crop is ranked in good or excellent condition, a figure that’s usually close to 100-percent. The ag secretary says Governor Tom Vilsack is asking for disaster assessment reports on the crop condition.Farm Service will collect information from all counties to see whether it’ll justify asking for disaster declaration from U-S Ag Secretary Ann Veneman. Judge says state officials are aware of farmers’ concerns.Heavy rain in the past week has left many farmers scratching their heads on what to do with waterlogged crops in their fields. Floyd County Extension crop specialist George Cummins says your local extension offices are great resources of advice for worried farmers. Cummins says it’s to the point in the growing season that replanting corn may not be an option.Cummins says it’s possible to replant soybeans, but it’s a bit risky this late into the season.Information is also available on the Iowa State University Extension website at “www.extension.iastate.edu”.