Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says recent wet weather has slowed farmers as they near the end of harvest season.
In a statement Monday, Naig said the latest weekly weather summary from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship shows heavy rainfall especially in western Iowa, keeping many producers out of the field for several days.
Naig noted that based on the past five years, Iowa farmers have typically harvested more than 96 percent of soybeans and 85 percent of corn by the first week of November. He added that a warmer and drier stretch of weather in the forecast should help many wrap up their remaining acres soon.
State Climatologist Justin Glisan says the statewide average temperature was 45.3 degrees this past week, just under one degree above normal, while widespread rainfall pushed totals above average in many areas. Nearly 50 reporting stations collected more than one inch of rain, with some of the highest totals recorded in Council Bluffs, Fort Dodge and Davis City.
Weekly precipitation averaged 0.70 inch statewide, compared to the normal of 0.53 inch.
Temperatures varied from a high of 68 degrees in several locations early in the week to a low of 21 degrees in Wayne County on Sunday morning.
Crop progress data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was unavailable due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
