Counties of: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sioux
Last week (Oct 16 to Oct 22) was warm, dry, and at times windy. This combination was very helpful because it allowed the fields and crops to dry out. The first half of October was cool and wet, which put crop progress and harvest farther behind schedule. The outlook for November is mostly dry with normal temps.
After a frustratingly slow start, soybean harvest is nearly complete. The majority of soybeans in NW Iowa were harvested last week or this week. Soybean yields are running 5 or more bushels per acre less than last year, but that’s still better than expected and in many cases above average. Yields range from the 50’s to 70’s bushels per acre (often in the same field) depending on soil quality and other factors.
Corn harvest is not up to full speed yet. Most corn is a little wetter than we like to harvest. The warm week we had (Oct 16 to Oct 22) dried the corn by 4 points or more which was very helpful. As we move into November, we typically don’t get a lot more good drying weather. Most corn is now between 17% and 24% moisture depending on the maturity and planting date. Drying charges apply to corn over 15% moisture, which gets expensive if you have corn over 20%. Corn stalks are becoming more brittle and susceptible to going down with high winds. Most corn should be harvested over the next two weeks. Yields are generally running a little better than expected, but
not on all fields.
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
Real Estate Licensed in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.
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