Southeast Iowa’s crops are doing better than last year at this time, and better than the five-year average. Iowa State University Extension Field Agronomist Rebecca Vittetoe shares what she’s seeing locally, “In general, the last couple of weeks it’s been cooler and cloudier, so I know one of the questions I’ve gotten quite a bit is, ‘Are the crops growing slower? Maybe looking a little bit yellower.’ But, I think this week especially with the heat that we’re going to have and the sunshine, it’s really going to help those crops take off.” She adds that most of the planting has wrapped up.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 87% of corn has emerged. At this time last year only 53% had emerged. Currently in southeast Iowa, 92% of soybeans have been planted with 59% emerged. The five-year average for soybeans emerged is 48%.