By Andi Anderson
The harvest of Iowa’s soybean and corn crops is nearing completion, with soybeans nearly done and corn about 94% harvested. This is ahead of the five-year average for both crops, due to the warm and dry weather this fall.
The week of Nov. 5 saw average temperatures 7 degrees above normal and almost no rain. This favorable weather allowed farmers to make significant progress with the harvest.
“The unseasonably warm and dry weather this past week offered Iowa farmers another suitable stretch to finish up harvest and tackle other farm work,” said Mike Naig, the state’s agriculture secretary.
If the current pace of the corn harvest continues, it will also be nearly complete by the end of this week.
Even though the percentage of unharvested corn is relatively small at 6%, that figure still represents a massive area because of the millions of acres that are planted each year in Iowa. About 750,000 acres were yet to be harvested at the start of this week.
The early completion of the harvest is a good sign for Iowa farmers, as it will allow them to get a head start on other fall tasks, such as preparing for next year’s planting season.
Photo Credit: istock-ds70
Categories: Iowa, Crops, Corn, Soybeans, Harvesting