Much needed precipitation was helpful for Iowa farmers, even if it led to fewer suitable field days. 

According to the latest Iowa Crop Condition and Progress Report from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the amount of suitable field days average was 5.1 last week, which was down from 6.3 days compared to the previous week. Dallas County Extension Field Agronomist Meaghan Anderson says farmers don’t mind less time because of the precipitation. 

“I think that just about any farmer that you would talk to would say that they were okay trading off a little bit of time in the field in order to get some rainfall because we needed it to get crops germinated and growing and then keep them growing. We needed it to help make our herbicides that we apply and rely on for weed control early in the season work.”

According to the latest crop report, statewide, 86-percent of corn has been planted and 67-percent of soybeans has been planted.