(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Crops suffer as ‘extreme’ drought grips part of northwest Iowa [1]
['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- July']
Date: 2022-07-05
Corn and soybean plants have continued to suffer in some parts of the state from lots of heat and little moisture, especially in far northwest Iowa where drought conditions have worsened, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.
Large areas of Plymouth and Woodbury counties are in “extreme” drought, a recent U.S. Drought Monitor report said. It’s the first time in nearly a year that any part of the state was that dry. There’s a chance of showers and thunderstorms for that area for the next several days, the National Weather Service predicts.
It’s been more than nine years since any part of the state had the Drought Monitor’s worst ranking of “exceptional.”
“Unseasonably dry conditions exacerbated longer-term drought across northwestern Iowa as stations reported little to no rainfall over the previous week,” State Climatologist Jason Glisan said in his weekly weather summary. “Iowa’s southern one-third measured widespread rains but was still up to an inch below normal.”
Much of the state’s corn crop is at its peak demand for water, and the soybean crop is approaching its peak. A small percentage of corn had begun to show silk for pollination as of Sunday, and about 13% of soybeans were blooming, the USDA report said.
In the past three weeks, the percentage of the state’s corn that is rated good or excellent has dropped from 86 to 77. Soybeans that rated that well went from 82% to 77%.
Soil moisture over that same time period had diminished significantly in some areas, but overall it’s much improved from a year ago. About two-thirds of the state’s topsoil and subsoil has adequate or surplus moisture, whereas last year more than half of the soil was short, according to the USDA report. Robust soil moisture can help crops weather periods of dryness.
“Thunderstorms added to the fireworks over the extended Fourth of July weekend with heavy rain falling across portions of the state,” Mike Naig, the state’s agriculture secretary, said Tuesday. “Unfortunately, drought-stricken parts of northwestern Iowa missed out on higher totals. However, forecasts are pointing to moderate to heavy rain potential as we approach a critical time for corn and soybean development.”
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