Less Than a Day for Suitable Field Work Last Week, USDA Says

USDA Crop Report

(KHBT) — Rain and early snow showers limited Iowa farmers to just 0.8 day suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 14, 2018, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The cool wet weather kept farmers mostly out of the fields and as a result they were only able to harvest 2 percent of corn and 1 percent of soybean acres.

Corn harvest is now 4 days behind average and soybean harvest is 11 days behind.

With just 19 percent of soybeans harvested as of Oct. 14, farmers are having the slowest bean harvest on record,” Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig said.

“With dryer weather in the forecast, farmers will be putting in long hours to bring in the crop as quickly as possible when conditions allow.”

This year is the smallest percentage of the soybean crop harvested by October 14 since records began. Soybean condition rated 65 percent good to excellent.