Persistent precipitation across Iowa last week limited opportunities for farmers to plant corn or soybeans, according to the latest Crop Progress and Condition report from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Iowa farmers had 2.4 suitable days for fieldwork, which included planting and spraying. Corn planting is nearly complete at 97%, two weeks ahead of the five-year average. Corn emergence reached 75%, five days ahead of normal, and the first corn condition rating of the season showed 0% very poor, 1% poor, 21% fair, 64% good, and 14% excellent. Eighty-nine percent of the soybean crop has been planted, 15 days ahead of normal. Soybean emergence jumped 29 percentage points during the week to 53%, nine days ahead of average. Farmers in south central and southeast Iowa still have at least 20% of their soybeans to plant but some areas may need a few days to dry out enough to allow field work to resume.