Angie Rieck-Hinz. (ISU Photo)
The latest U.S.D.A. crop report showed 58% of the corn rated in good to excellent condition.
The report says wind and heavy rain damaged some corn and soybean fields in north-central, northeast, and southeast Iowa. The soybean condition was rated 60% good to excellent.
Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Angie Rieck-Hinz says the recent rain provides minimal help right now.
“A little too late for our corn, most of our corn was mature enough that the rain was not going to help it,” she says. “It’s been really spotty, so there’s some decent looking corn and then there’s some kind of tough looking corn — it’s already fired up to the leaves — it’s got some shorter ears.”
She covers eight counties in north-central Iowa and says the rain did have some benefit. “That rain probably helped our soybeans out there just a little bit — helped fill those pods — we are past flowering so we are not going to put on any more pods, so right now it’s about filling the beans that are still viable.”
Rieck-Hinz says soybeans will show some yield loss from the dry conditions. She says the drought started last year — and the rains will benefit the next crop. She says it will help going into next season to fill up the soil profile. Rieck-Hinz says farmers will want the rain to start holding off as the harvest approaches so they don’t have to work in muddy fields to bring the crops in.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)