Eastern Iowa farmers say recent rains were welcome relief for heat-stressed crops.
Mike Paustian, who farms near Walcott, got more than an inch of rain on his corn and soybean fields this week. He says it’s the first significant rain in nearly two months.
“This crop’s had a pretty rough year and all in all, it’s not terrible,” Paustian says. “It’s not going to be the best crop we’ve ever had, but I I’m hopeful that it’ll be okay.”
Norman Van Zante, who farms near Pella, says the seven-tenths they received was also very welcome.
“We hadn’t had a good rain for three or four weeks,” he says.
Midwest farmers were unable to plant about one out of every four acres of cropland due to this spring’s flooding. That means farmers who are able to harvest a crop this fall may see prices for corn and beans rise.
(By Ken Anderson of Brownfield Ag News)