(Undated)– Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Field Agronomists have completed their spring survey of subsoil moisture in Northwest Iowa. Area Agronomist Leah Ten Napel says the levels in Northwest Iowa are about average overall…
“We have some sites that are a little wetter than last year and some that are a little bit drier than last spring, but overall we’re really sitting at average levels for the spring season which is great because that means our soil conditions are looking good. You can plant and get through. I’m also seeing a good amount of moisture going into the growing season.”
Readings in soils at ten sites in nine Northwest Iowa locations show a range from 6.98 inches of plant available moisture near Akron to 10.25 inches near Doon…
“You know there is quite a range. And so even last spring my northern counties were quite a bit wetter than my southern counties. This year it kind of seems like a mix. So my northern counties were a little bit drier than I expected but then some of my sites following the western border had a little bit more water than I was expecting, so. We’re a little bit across the board but nothing that puts us in a worrisome place right now.”
Ten Napel says 10 to 11 inches of plant available moisture are considered a full soil profile…
“And so last spring we were dealing with a lot locations that were over that number so when I was pulling up samples we had free water coming out of these which sometimes can make planting conditions difficult because we end up mudding in some of that seed. And so this year I didn’t have any free water but all of our numbers were relatively high. I had some that were a little bit drier, some in the sevens or so, but not really a worrisome number to be at. But those numbers in the eights to nines, those are sitting with quite a bit of moisture in there.”
The survey was taken on April 14, so additional rainfall since then adds to the profile. Ten Napel adds that planting progress is about right on schedule in Northwest Iowa…
“If you’ve been out in the countryside you’ve seen lots of planters going, lots of fertilizer being put out there, lots of tillage being done, so lots of field activity and the weather has been really great for it. We’re looking really good, there’s plenty of crops in the ground already and soil temperatures are looking pretty good as well.”
According to the latest USDA Crop Progress Report that was released earlier this week, 24% of corn and 13% of soybeans are now planted in Northwest Iowa.
(Courtesy Community First Broadcasting station KSOU in Sioux Center)
