Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

Crop Conditions

Northwest of Storm Lake

Counties of: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux

Past Weeks Rainfall: 0 to .2 inch
Soil Moisture: Dry
Temperature: Above normal
Crop Progress: Fast harvest progress

Corn

Crop Stage: 40% harvested
Yield Potential: Average or Below

Soybean

Crop Stage: 90% harvested
Yield Potential: Average or Below

Corn Market

Current Prices: $6.74/bu
Fall Prices: $5.74/bu
Past Weeks Trend: 3 cents higher

Soybean Market

Current Prices: $13.17/bu
Fall Prices: $12.76/bu
Past Weeks Trend: 3 cents higher

Comments:

Chad Husman AFM

Harvest is progressing quickly with basically no weather delays this entire fall season. Low humidity, warm temperatures, and wind have dried the crops quickly. Field conditions are very dry, so fire is a big concern when the wind blows. Farmers may want to shut down during the high wind days or bring a disk to the field just in case. The long-range forecast shows a mix of temperatures coming, but no change from the dry pattern. The extreme drought areas in Northwest Iowa include Plymouth, Woodbury, Cherokee, and parts of O’Brien, Clay, Buena Vista, Palo Alto, and Pocahontas. Most areas had just enough small rain events this season to make a reasonable crop but not nearly enough to replenish the water table, so the groundwater deficit continues to grow. Local lakes, rivers, ponds, and wells are extremely low. We are already worrying about water for next year. Quality Iowa soil can hold around 10 inches of water in the top 5 feet of soil. It is very unlikely that the soil water supply will be recharged by next spring.

Soybean harvest is nearing completion. Yields were highly variable depending on the soil and rainfall. On some farms they were a little better than expected, and others were disappointing. Common yields range from 40 to 60 bushels per acre with some above and below that. It wasn’t uncommon to have areas in a field reach up to 80 bushels per acre in the bottom ground and 30 bushels per acre on the hills.

Corn harvest is also going quickly. Dry weather and dry corn make for a fast harvest. We are worried about corn going down because of how dry and stressed it is, but so far, most corn has held up well. Corn yields are also highly variable. Most corn yield data is yet to come in, so I don’t have a great feel for the range yet. Most good farms will still have corn yields over 200 bushels per acre, but that could be 20+ bushels below average on some farms.

Crop Update Achives

Please click on the links on the right to view the past pdf’s of our Northwest Crop Conditions reports.

Market Conditions

Subscribe

Stay informed and connected—subscribe to our mailing list today to receive the latest issues of Today’s Land Owner, Crop Updates, or get notified of auctions and real estate for sale, sent directly in your inbox!

I'm interested in: