Counties of: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux
After a very warm start to April, the rest of the month has been cold. The earlier weather models predicting a warm April were wrong. We even had a light snow in this area yesterday morning. The current two week outlook is showing a moderate warmup with normal temperatures and normal chances of rainfall. Beyond that models still favor warmer than average late May and June. We are still short on soil moisture in this area.
Very little corn or soybeans are planted in this area, most farmers are waiting for warmer weather. The soil temperature has been stuck in the low to mid 40’s recently. I expect planting will start full-speed this weekend or next week unless we get a surprise rain. The general rule of thumb to plant corn is 50 degree soil temp or higher, ideally with a warming trend after planting and enough moisture for germination. Other considerations are also important like soil conditions, work load, and date. Seed planted into soil below 50 degrees will take up the cold water and swell, but not germinate. That’s not ideal because the seed can rot or loose vigor overtime resulting in a poor stand.
Grain markets continue to move higher with new contract highs in corn and soybeans this week. Prices are at levels not seen since 2013 with beans over $15 and corn over $6. We expect the markets to be extremely volatile as we get farther into the growing season.Weather / anticipated crop size will be the biggest factors.
Please click on the links on the right to view the past pdf’s of our Northwest Crop Conditions reports.
1705 N Lake Ave
Storm Lake, IA 50588
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