(Le Mars) — Farmers have had to deal with wet conditions ever since the beginning of this crop year, and it continues right up to harvest. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says this year’s crop year can be summed up in one word: “Wet.” Naig offers a statewide summary of the harvest progress.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Crops Specialist for northwest Iowa, Joel DeJong says those farmers that were able to plant early have been able to see some decent soybean yields. However, in general, the crops have been slow to mature.
DeJong says mother nature needs to provide some assistance to farmers by providing several dry days in order for the moisture levels in our grain to drop.
DeJong says for several soybean growers, white mold has become a problem, further reducing the yield potential.
The ISU crops specialist says he sees a wide variety of yields and grain quality within his nine-county region.
DeJong says the normal frost date for this region is October 10th. He says much of the area’s corn still needs additional time to mature. He says a light frost may not hurt the crop, but for late planted corn, an early frost could negatively affect crop yields.
DeJong says it is very likely many farmers will need to resort to using artificial drying methods in order to store their corn, which only adds to the cost of the crop.
