Today is the first day Iowa farmers can plant their corn crop and also be protected under federal crop insurance programs. It comes as eastern Iowa farmers say the soil is moist enough to kick off the new season.
More than four out of every five farmers in the Quad City area say the top soil and subsoil moisture is adequate at this point of the year. That's a better percentage than anywhere else in Iowa. and is even better than in northwest Illinois.
Just over half of the farmers in counties like Carroll, Whiteside, and Rock Island say they have adequate amounts of top soil and sub soil moisture right now. The greatest deficits are seen in northwest and north central Iowa. 85-percent of the farmers in that area around Sioux Center, Mason City, Osage, and Spencer say they are short or very short of soil moisture.
Here are the numbers released by the Agriculture Department's Agricultural Statistics field offices in Des Moines and Springfield:
EAST CENTRAL IOWA SOIL MOISTURE
- 1% Surplus in Top Soil Moisture
- 89% Adequate in Top Soil Moisture
- 10% Short to Very Short in Top Soil Moisture
- 1% Surplus in Subsoil Moisture
- 85% Adequate in Subsoil Moisture
- 14% Short to Very Short in Subsoil Moisture
STATEWIDE IOWA SOIL MOISTURE
- 2% Surplus in Top Soil Moisture
- 43% Adequate in Top Soil Moisture
- 55% Short to Very Short in Top Soil Moisture
- 2% Surplus in Subsoil Moisture
- 47% Adequate in Subsoil Moisture
- 51% Short to Very Short in Subsoil Moisture
NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS SOIL MOISTURE
- 56% Adequate in Top Soil Moisture
- 34% Short to Very Short in Top Soil Moisture
- 63% Adequate in Subsoil Moisture
- 35% Short to Very Short in Subsoil Moisture
STATEWIDE ILLINOIS SOIL MOISTURE
- 63% Adequate in Top Soil Moisture
- 35% Short to Very Short in Top Soil Moisture
- 52% Adequate in Subsoil Moisture
- 47% Short to Very Short in Subsoil Moisture