Ahead of the planting season this year, one field agronomist says soil depth is lacking in precipitation.

ISU Extension Field Agronomist Mike Witt says ground water is not currently at a premium in western Iowa. As of last week, Witt says western Iowa was about 25-percent for availability of water, while in eastern Iowa was around 65-percent. 

“Where we are sitting at right now is vastly different than where we were a year ago at this time. A year ago at this time we were thinking about, as far as ground water, we were probably 80-90-percent, as far as ground water. Whereas now we’re at that 25 (percent) situation right there.”

With Guthrie County still suffering from drought, Witt describes what it will take to pull the county out from being in a drought.

“If we can get (those) slow, gentle rain, what we call it the ‘soaker,’ so it has time to hit, and go in, and soak into the profile, over multiple days. That’s what we’re going to need, a long stretch of that type of moisture in order to work on replenishing that soil. Just a couple of rain storms that come in with an inch, inch-and-a-half, two-inches, as we know, if that ground is dry, it’s going to hit (and) we’ll get some infiltration. But a lot of it is just going to be in run-off situation.”     

Witt hopes that with warmer temperatures and most of the snow melting, that will help to warm up the soil to allow for more moisture to get deeper into the profile.