Guthrie County farmers have been able to start work in the fields, but after recent rains they will be sidelined for a few days.

Iowa State University Extension Field Agronomist Mike Witt says that across the county, about 10-15-percent of corn and soybeans have been planted. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that this initial planting window is closed after the rain in recent days, but that the rain was something that will help out in the long run.

“We need more subsurface moisture, as opposed to just top surface moisture. We needed this rain so that it could get in and soak deeper into the soil profile, because that’s where we really need to replenish it. The years that we’ve had where it’s been very dry, that soil moisture on topsoil were probably fairly adequate, but we still need more down below. Those are the reserves that we go to later on in the season. So even though we would like to get planted, and like to be out there now, any rain is still a welcome sight moving forward.”

Witt adds that even though farmers may be kept out of the fields for the next three to four days, that should still give everyone adequate time to get corn planted before May 1st. He mentions that being patient will also be important coming up though, because if the ground is too wet or cold when seeds are planted, it can cause problems going forward.