First week in May excellent for planting

DES MOINES — A warm and dry week made for excellent planting conditions, allowing 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 11, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Producers made quick progress planting corn and soybeans. Conditions were also favorable for spraying.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 5% very short, 22% short, 70% adequate and 3% surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 5% very short, 24% short, 67% adequate and 4% surplus.

Corn planted reached 76%, eight days ahead of last year and three days ahead of the five-year average.

Corn emerged reached 30%, four days ahead of last year’s pace and two days ahead of normal.

Sixty-four percent of the expected soybean crop has been planted, 10 days ahead of last year and five days ahead of the five-year average.

Soybeans emerged reached 16%. Nearly all of the oat crop has been planted, with 74% emerged, three days behind last year but two days ahead of normal.

Reports of oats starting to head were received. Oat condition rated 85% good to excellent, up six percentage points from last week.

Six percent of the State’s first cutting of alfalfa hay has been completed. The first hay rating of the year showed 84% in good to excellent condition.

Pasture condition rated 64% good to excellent, up 4 percentage points from last week. Livestock were reported to be in good condition with some cows and calves turned out on grass.

Weather summary provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship:

A stable blocking high pressure system brought unseasonable warmth across Iowa through the reporting period. Temperatures were 10 to 12 degrees above normal in northwestern Iowa with a statewide average temperature of 54.8 degrees, 0.5 degree above normal.

Rainfall was generally sparse across the state, though southern and Eastern Iowa stations did report measurable amounts.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at many stations to 1.09 inches in Marion.

The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.05 inch; the normal is 1.00 inch. Ames (Story County) reported the week’s high temperature of 92 degrees May 10, 23 degrees above normal.

Chariton (Lucas County) reported the week’s low temperature of 32 degrees May 5, 10 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures were in upper 50s to low 70s east to west as of Sunday.