With the spring planting season underway for farmers across the, an expert Dallas County Iowa State University Extension talks about the local progress.

According to Dallas County ISU Extension Field Agronomist Meaghan Anderson, the county got off to a good start in terms planting corn and soybeans between the window of April 10th and the 19th. She notes that even with how dry this past winter season was, the county is in a better condition with moisture than it was in 2024. Anderson tells Raccoon Valley Radio the challenges the recent rains have created for farmers.

“Well it definitely brought planting to a halt. Corn much more so than soybeans, but both of the crops are somewhat sensitive to those cool moisture (levels) and so during the first 24 (hours) or so, maybe 36 hours of that seed being in the ground, it’s going to imbibe 30 to 50 or so percent of its weight in water. The first thing that that corn seed is going to do once you put it in the ground is it’s going to start softening up the outer shell of the seed and it’s going to start taking up water, and we really don’t want it to take in cold water.”

Looking ahead to the rest of April and into early May, Anderson says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate predictions are showing heavily warmer than average temperatures and wetter than average conditions in the short term forecast. She’s hoping that after that, there will be another nice period for farmers to hit the field to plant.