The U.S.D.A. says more than 90% of the Iowa corn crop is now in the ground as farmers had nearly one full week of good planting conditions.
The percentage planted went from 80 to 93 in the last week — but that is still more than two weeks behind last year and almost three weeks behind the five-year average. Mike Stewart, was still working Monday to get his planting done near Mount Vernon. “I’m on my last day, hopefully, planting beans. Everything else is in the ground. Finished corn Thursday evening and started beans on Friday. Got about sixty…seventy acres left here to finish,” Stewart says.
Soybean planting also went well — moving from 41 percent planted to 70 percent. Soybean planting is 17 days behind last year and the five-year average. Stewart left some of the wet spots on his ground unplanted as he worked to get the seed into the dry ground.
“You’ve got to get it in at this point in time. There are other conditions…from crop insurance and federal programs and everything…that you just need to get it in the ground,” Stewart says. “We’ll take what we get…and we’ll have to see. The weather is going to have to cooperate from here on out to see what the final yields are.”
Seventy-three percent of the crop has emerged statewide, which is more than two weeks behind last year. The corn condition rated 58 percent good to excellent. Thirty-five percent of the soybeans have emerged — which is two weeks behind last year.
(Dean Borg of Iowa Public Radio contributed to this story)
