A sure sign that the planting season is nearly here is the return of the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the first one of the season was released on Monday. For the week ending April 6, Iowa farmers experienced a slow start to the planting season as cooler-than-normal temperatures and wet conditions limited fieldwork. Statewide, farmers had just 3.3 days suitable for fieldwork. Some producers were able to plant oats and apply fertilizer and anhydrous. Oat seeding reached 20 percent, trailing last year by eight days but ahead of the five-year average. Only 2 percent of oats had emerged. As for moisture conditions, topsoil measured 28 percent short to very short, 68 percent adequate, and four percent surplus, while subsoil measured 44 percent short to very short, 55 percent adequate, and one percent surplus. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says, “Each spring brings a renewed sense of optimism for the growing season ahead. The initial weather outlooks for the first half of April are leaning warmer and drier, which will make farmers eager to get the planters rolling as soon as field conditions are ready. Thankfully, the drought situation across Iowa is improved compared to last year because of the more active weather pattern we experienced throughout March.” The calving season continued, with some reports of muddy conditions. Iowa averaged 0.88 inches of precipitation for the week, above the normal 0.67 inches. Temperatures averaged 40.7 degrees, 2.6 degrees below normal. The highest recorded temperature was 75 degrees on April 2, while the lowest was 18 degrees on April 6 in Audubon. Soil temperatures ranged from the low to mid-40s across the state. The complete reports is available at nass.usda.gov.
