Soil moisture levels continue to improve as harvest moves forward across the state. “Last month was the eighth wettest October on record,” says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig. “A stretch of rainy days helped replenish soil moisture, improving drought conditions that were lingering in the state. Although the precipitation slowed fieldwork, soybean harvest is now nearing completion,” he adds. That wetter than normal month brought the topsoil levels up to a rating of just 15 percent short to very short and a subsoil rating of 33 percent. According to the Crop Progress and Condition Report for the week ending Nov. 7, farmers had 5.6 days suitable for fieldwork. Ninety-five percent of Iowa’s soybean crop has been harvested, three days ahead of the five-year average. Corn harvest reached 84 percent over the past week, wrapping up in some parts of the state four days ahead of the norm. Moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain was at 17 percent. The full Crop Progress and Condition Report can be found at nass.usda.gov.
