Early Corn Harvest Continuing as Drought Persists

By Dave DeWitte, Reporter

A drought impacted ear of corn is seen in a field on the Tom Albaugh farm, Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, in Ankeny, Iowa. Albaugh expects to be harvesting by the middle of September, ahead of the usual end of September or early October schedule. The harvest is three to four weeks ahead of schedule in most of the corn belt because an unusually warm spring allowed farmers to plant earlier. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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By KCRG Intern

Story Created: Sep 4, 2012 at 5:02 PM CDT

Story Updated: Sep 4, 2012 at 7:38 PM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Fifty percent of Iowa's corn crop is now mature, the USDA said Tuesday, well above the average of 11 percent at this time of the season.

The USDA's weekly Iowa Crops & Weather report said farmers continued chopping their drought-weakened corn for sileage last week, and were joined by some farmers harvesting corn for grain.

Crop conditions worsened over the past week, the USDA said in its weekly Iowa Crops & Weather report. Temperatures across the state averaged 6.9 degrees above normal for the week, while statewide precipitation averaged only 0.07 inches.

Topsoil moisture was rated very short on 50 percent of the state's crop land. Of the remaining 50 percent of crop land, 34 percent was rated short of moisture, 15 percent was adequate and 1 percent was surplus.

Fifty-one percent of the soybean crop was turning color, a jump of 32 percentage points from the previous week.

Ninety-one percent of the corn crop had reached the dent stage, compared to an average of 64 percent at the same time of the season.

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