Despite scant rainfall last week in Iowa and ahead of this week’s heat wave, the overall condition of the state’s corn and soybean crops improved slightly, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Monday.
That’s partly due to cooler-than-usual temperatures that dominated the week: the state averaged about 3.6 degrees cooler than normal, State Climatologist Justin Glisan reported. That eases the stress on crops amid drought conditions that are affecting about three-quarters of the state.
The state averaged 0.28 inches of rain last week — less than a third of normal. Much of the state had little or no rainfall, but Dubuque reported nearly 3.5 inches.
The USDA said Monday that about 60% of the state’s corn is rated good or excellent, which is up 2 percentage points from a week ago.
About 59% of soybeans are also rated good or excellent, up 1 percentage point.
The closing days of last week featured a dramatic swing in temperatures. On Friday, several northern areas had low temperatures of 45 degrees, or 13 degrees below normal. On Saturday, the high temperature in Sioux City was 98 degrees, or 16 degrees above normal.
The excessive heat is expected to continue through at least Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.
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