As temperatures dipped below normal across much of the State, Iowa farmers managed to find 4.0 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending November 11, 2018, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Activities for the week included harvesting corn and soybeans, baling stalks, applying anhydrous and manure, repairing tile, and fall tillage in areas where the ground was not too frozen.Topsoil moisture levels rated 0 percent very short, 1 percent short, 80 percent adequate and 19 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 0 percent very short, 2 percent short, 77 percent adequate and 21 percent surplus.
Eighty-three percent of the State’s corn for grain crop has been harvested, 3 days behind the five-year average. Farmers in north central Iowa have harvested 91 percent of their corn for grain while farmers in the southwest have 36 percent of their corn for grain remaining to be harvested. Moisture content of field corn being harvested averaged 16 percent. Soybean harvest was 94 percent complete, 3 days behind last year and 4 days behind the average.