While heavy rains last week may have decreased the amount of time available for farmers to do fieldwork, it did improve conditions for corn and soybeans.

This week’s U.S. Department of Agriculture Crop Progress and Conditions Report states Iowa had 3.7 days suitable for field work, which consisted of harvesting hay and seed corn, chopping silage, and seeding cover crops. Precipitation in the last week helped increase topsoil moisture levels in all districts, as ISU Extension and Outreach Field Agronomist Mike Witt explains, “If you look at the precipitation totals and the averages in 90 days, we’re probably sitting at about where we should be. However, in 30 days we are exceeding where we have been in the average total precipitation, which is a good thing because we really want these crops to hold on and have adequate moisture for them to be able to mature due to the late planting date that we’ve had.”

Some above-average temperatures last week also helped the later-planted corn mature. Eight percent of corn has reached maturity, 19 days behind last year and 13 days behind the average. Forty percent of the soybean crop has begun coloring, 11 days behind last year and eight days behind the average.