DES MOINES, Iowa—Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time.
“Although the first half of July was cooler and wetter than average, Iowa’s tasseling corn encountered some summer heat and humidity this past weekend,” said Secretary Naig. “Monday’s thunderstorms will give way to more seasonal conditions and cooler temperatures. This will be welcome news for our state’s livestock as well as those participating in county fairs around the state.”
The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.
Crop Report
Most of the State received below normal rainfall and experienced mild temperatures. These conditions allowed Iowa farmers 5.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending July 14, 2024, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities included harvesting oats for grain, cutting and baling hay, and applying fungicides.
Topsoil moisture condition rated 0 percent very short, 6 percent short, 84 percent adequate and 10 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 1 percent very short, 8 percent short, 82 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus. Corn silking or beyond reached 44 percent, 1 day ahead of last year and 3 days ahead of the five-year average. Corn crop in the dough stage reached 6 percent, 5 days ahead of the average.
Corn condition rated 74 percent good to excellent. Soybean crop blooming reached 50 percent, 3 days behind last year. Soybeans setting pods reached 12 percent, 1 day behind last year but equal to the five-year average. Soybean condition rated 72 percent good to excellent. Oats turning color reached 82 percent, 5 days ahead of the average. Oat harvest for grain jumped to 26 percent complete, 1 week ahead of the average. Oat condition was 77 percent good to excellent.
The State’s second cutting of alfalfa hay reached 57 percent complete, 5 days behind last year but 2 days ahead of the average. Hay condition rated 78 percent good to excellent. Pasture condition rated 71 percent good to excellent. Some pastures remain flooded and where floodwaters have receded some pastures are covered in silt.
Weather Summary
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
Iowans experienced near-normal temperatures for most of the reporting period before unseasonable warmth returned towards the end of the week; the statewide average temperature was 73.7 degrees, 1.0 degree below normal. Rainfall was reported statewide, though most stations registered below average totals; only the far northeast corner received above normal rain.
Thundershowers continued to fire on Sunday (7th) afternoon with stronger storms forming in western and northern Iowa over the evening hours. The cells consolidated as they moved into central Iowa and then pushed east through the early morning hours of Monday (8th). There were several reports of severe straight line winds and large hail; Albion (Marshall County) registered a 69 mph gust while two-inch hail was observed in Sheldon (O’Brien County). More than half of Iowa’s stations reporting rainfall had at least 0.30 inch with higher totals from north-central to southeast Iowa; Marshalltown (Marshall County) measured 1.61 inches with 2.01 inches at Bloomfield (Davis County). Clouds cleared west to east through the day with temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s. Spotty thundershowers also popped across eastern Iowa with several stations reporting measurable amounts near an inch; two Lee County stations, Fort Madison and West Point, reported 0.71 and 0.93 inch, respectively. Clear skies and light winds developed overnight with Tuesday (9th) morning lows in the mid to upper 60s. High level clouds from the remains of Hurricane Beryl overspread the state into the afternoon with highs ranging from the low 70s southeast to low 80s northwest. An upper level low pressure center sitting over the Upper Midwest spun showers and thunderstorms into northern Iowa after midnight with further development later in the day on Wednesday (10th). Stronger storms formed along the Iowa-Missouri border into the evening where locally heavy downpours were observed. Slow moving thunderstorms persisted in east-central Iowa over the early hours of Wednesday (10th). Morning lows dropped into the upper 50s in western Iowa with conditions up to ten degrees warmer east. Rain totals were highest in eastern and southwest Iowa with 1.20 inches in Creston (Union County) and 2.13 inches in Coralville (Johnson County). General rainfall amounts were in the 0.20 to 0.40 inch range with a statewide average of 0.23 inch. Daytime conditions were partly cloudy with variable winds and temperatures in the lows 70s north to low 80s south.
High pressure dominated the weather pattern on Thursday (11th) with morning temperatures in the 60s and patchy fog across southern Iowa. Wind shifted to the east through the day with pleasant temperatures in the low 80s under mostly sunny skies. Stars were visible overnight into Friday (12th) as morning temperatures bottomed out in the low to mid 60s. A shift to southeasterly winds boosted highs in the upper 80s over western Iowa while the low to mid 80s were reported across the rest of Iowa. Foggy conditions were observed at daybreak on Saturday (13th) with unseasonably warm morning temperatures in the low 70s under generally clear skies. Gusty southerly winds built in through the day with temperatures from the mid 80s northeast to low 90s south and west. Spotty clouds developed in central to northeastern Iowa as a fast moving complex of thunderstorms, some severe, moved along the Iowa-Wisconsin border after sunset. A secondary line moved over the same region with additional development in eastern Iowa into early Sunday (14th). Several stations in northeastern Iowa observed rainfall with 0.50 inch in Dubuque (Dubuque County) and Elkader (Clayton County) to 0.98 inch at Guttenberg Lock and Dam (Clayton County).
Weekly precipitation totals ranged from a trace at Spencer Municipal Airport (Clay County) to 2.56 inches in Lowden (Cedar County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.70 inch, while the normal is 1.05 inches. Little Sioux (Harrison County) reported the week’s high temperature of 94 degrees on the 13th, eight degrees above normal. Mapleton (Monona County) reported the week’s low temperature of 53 degrees on the 10th, nine degrees below normal.
(contributed press release, IDALS)
