With the Labor Day holiday having gone by, Iowa farmers are beginning to gear up for harvest. According to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Crop Progress and Condition Report, producers had 6.8 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending Sept. 3, primarily chopping silage and cutting and baling hay. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says, “With persistent hot and dry conditions, Iowa is at 166 consecutive weeks of at least moderate drought. Now that Labor Day is behind us, we can expect to see farmers ramping up their pre-harvest preparations as crop conditions are variable and rain chances remain low.” Corn in the dent stage or beyond was at 78 percent this week, five days ahead of both last year and the five-year average. Seventeen percent of the corn crop has reached maturity, five days ahead of last year and three days ahead of normal. Corn conditions dipped five points to 49 percent good to excellent. Soybeans coloring or beyond reached 40 percent, six days ahead of last year and four days ahead of the average. Soybeans dropping leaves was at eight percent this week, a week ahead of last year and two days ahead of normal. Soybean conditions fell four percentage points to 49 percent good to excellent. Topsoil moisture conditions rated 75 percent short to very short and 25 percent adequate, with no area of the state reporting a surplus. Subsoil moisture conditions rated 75 percent short to very short, 24 percent adequate, and one percent surplus. The full report is available at www.nass.usda.gov.
