Iowa Gripped by Statewide Drought Amid Crucial Growth Stage for Crops

Unfavorable weather conditions have created a drought throughout Iowa, a state where corn and soybean crops are now entering their critical reproductive stages. The dry spell, which has lasted for several weeks, has put severe stress on these vital crops. Despite this, experts remain hopeful for a turn-around, with rain forecasted in the near future.

According to Gentry Sorenson, Field Agronomist at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, there has been no significant rainfall for the past two to three weeks. “The past couple of weeks have seen more stress on the crops,” Sorenson explains.

This lack of rain has come at a crucial time for corn and soybean crops. “A corn and soybean crop overall needs about 20 inches of moisture from rainfall and subsoil moisture to produce a crop,” Sorenson notes. However, many areas have not received any substantial subsoil moisture recharge this year.

USDA’s Crop Progress report for Iowa, released on July 31, shows that subsoil moisture supplies across the state are mostly insufficient. As a result, some farmers are concerned about how they will make it through the hot spell without significant rainfall.

Despite these challenges, Chuck White, a corn and soybean farmer in Spencer, Iowa, says he has actually received more rainfall on his farm than last year. To date, he has measured 14 inches of rain from April to July, compared to last year’s 9 to 10 inches of rainfall for the entire growing season.

White credits his use of no till and strip till farming, along with cover crops, for helping retain moisture in the ground and preventing his soybeans from wilting under drought conditions.

Even though rainfall has been scarce across Iowa in recent weeks, farmers remain hopeful, with forecasts promising up to an inch or more of rain in parts of the state during the first weekend of August. “That would really help with our soybean development,” White adds.