Crop conditions were unchanged following a week of unseasonably mild weather, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the week ending Aug. 18, Iowa farmers had 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork, which included cutting and baling hay and preparing for the fall harvest. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says, “Overall pleasant weather helped produce record attendance at the Iowa State Fair over the last week and a half, even with a few rainy days mixed in. That widespread rain, coupled with the warmer temperatures forecasted through the end of August, should give crops a good boost heading into September.” Corn condition was rated at 77 percent good to excellent, as some of the crop begins to mature. Corn in the dough state or beyond reached 82 percent, three days behind last year but two days ahead of the five-year average. Twenty-eight percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage, three days behind last year but a day ahead of average. Soybean conditions also rated 77 percent good to excellent, with 96 percent now blooming and 83 percent setting pods, a week behind last year and three days behind the norm. Soybeans are now beginning to turn color. Topsoil and subsoil moisture conditions rated 19 percent short to very short, 77 percent adequate, and four percent surplus. Find the complete Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report online at www.nass.usda.gov.
