Recent rainfall has crops looking good

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

What a difference a few weeks can make.

In June, area farmers saw curled leaves on their corn plants and city residents noticed their lawn beginning to show stress.

It was dry and adding to the concern was that June usually is one of Iowa?s wettest months whereas July can be hot and dry.

However, Virgil Schmitt, regional Iowa State University Extension crop specialist, was not one of those in the concerned camp. Yes, it was dry in southeast Iowa, he said, but corn crops are made in July not June, and soybeans need rain in August.

Although July has been hot, the amount and timing of rainfall has farmers and city residents smiling.

A considerable portion of July?s moisture came during corn pollination, which sometimes is referred to as ?million-dollar rainfall,? because rain during pollination is one of the keys to a good corn crop.

?The crops look much better than they did three weeks ago,? Schmitt said, ?because they have received substantial rainfall. The southeast portion of my area, (Schmitt?s territory includes a considerable share of eastern Iowa) which needed rain the most got it.?

He said that rainfall in southeast Iowa was an unusual occurrence this time around. ?Generally weather patterns trigger more rainfall. What I mean is that if there is some water in the ditches and there is good crop moisture, they will get more rain.

?On the other hand, most of the places where it is dry won?t attract the rainfall,? he added.

He said it will be interesting to see what the drought monitor released this week will reveal. Last week, the southern tier of Iowa counties was in a moderate drought. ?On the short term, do we have enough moisture to feed the plants? Yes, we do,? the crop specialist noted.

Schmitt said at this time crops in his entire area look as good, if not better, than they did last year. ?I had one guy from the northern part of the state tell me that the crops looked as good as they ever have. But crops in all of eastern Iowa are in pretty good shape at this time.