Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says last week’s warm, dry weather gave farmers a valuable window to finish harvesting corn and complete late-season fieldwork.
In a statement Monday, Naig said temperatures climbed back into the 60s and even low 70s after the state’s first snowfall. He says the mild stretch helped producers make “a final push” in the fields, though drought conditions continue to creep back into parts of the state. Naig added that many farmers will welcome the moisture forecasted ahead of Thanksgiving.
State Climatologist Justin Glisan reports that despite strong winds, most of Iowa saw little to no precipitation. The statewide average temperature was 41.6 degrees, about four degrees above normal.
Highs reached as warm as 76 degrees late in the week, while Spencer hit the statewide low at just six degrees. Rainfall was nearly nonexistent, with most stations reporting no measurable precipitation.
The weekly crop progress data from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service was not available this week.
