Warm dry weather helped move planting in Iowa from a standstill to a record pace. The latest U.S.D.A. report shows 69% of the corn crop has been planted — that’s a 61% increase over last week.
Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says it’s the second biggest jump in week-to-week planting since 1992 when there was a 64% increase in the amount planted in the first week of May. Overall the corn acreage is still behind last year’s rate of 92%, but right at the five-year average for corn planting.
Soybean planting is 10% complete, which is far behind last year’s 40% and 18% behind the five year average. The report says the only complaint from farmers were windy conditions at times that prevented them from getting some spraying done.