Southwest Iowa Crop Conditions

Worthwhile to recap the weather through the end of May. Iowa not only set, but smashed the old records for rainfall in May and the March to May period. This is over 141 years of record keeping. Old record was 15.36 inches for the state, this may we received 17.48 inches. 30 year average is 10.22 inches for March to May. The only correlation for an extremely hot, dry year followed by such a cold, wet one (so far) goes back to 1901 and 1902. Needless to say, these are historic weather extremes we are dealing with period however, crops in our SW district are some of the better ones around. Some corners approaching knee high and beginning to catch nitrogen as indicated by a darker green color. Rainfall pushed applied nitrogen deeper into the soil, requiring roots to go deeper before reaching a plentiful supply. However, roots chase moisture and have no incentive to go deeper during continuous rainfall period two scenarios we could see around the region – “shallow-root syndrome” where roots are not deep enough to withstand dry conditions later in the summer, and/or rapid growth which elongates cells, making stocks more susceptible to “brittle-snap” in high winds. Alcorn has this potential, some have more than others. Given a chance we’ll see cornfields experience rapid growth as it tries to catch up with beneficial weather. Beans are emerging in mostly good shape. Beans respond to changing daylight and begin to flower shortly after the summer solstice. They will not have much height at all at this point. Often, beans are knee high by 4th of July. Doesn’t seem likely this year. However, it does take a tall bean to make a good yield. Overall, it does not seem that new crop corn is priced in accordance with the overall situation.