Southeast Iowa has been busy the last week with farmers in their fields. Iowa State University Extension Field Agronomist Rebecca Vittetoe says last week is when she really saw farmers starting to plant their soybeans and corn, as well as spraying, tillage, and spreading a little bit of fertilizer. She says soil moisture levels in the area aren’t a concern at this time, “So, with soil moisture we’re sitting pretty good right now. Field conditions have been good farmers to get in and get planting. At least around here, I haven’t been too concerned about fields being too wet where people were going to cause lots of sidewall smearing or compaction issues at planting. So, we’re thankful that farmers are able to get out in the field. I know last year we had a nice window at first and then things got really wet and it kept farmers out of the field for a while. So, hopefully we can have more of a normal planting season this spring.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, corn planting across Iowa is ahead of both last year and the five-year average with 39% of corn in the ground. Soybeans are also ahead of both measures with 9% of the crop in the ground across the state. In southeast Iowa, 32% of the corn and 10% of soybeans have been planted so far.