(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Iowa corn and soybean crops are behind last year’s pace by several percentage points, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Crop Progress and Condition Report. One percent of corn in Iowa was reported as silking for the June 22-28 reporting period, which is 2 percentage points behind the same week in 2025, but only 1 percentage point behind the five-year average. (Cover photo Corn silks begin to show on a corn field. – Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
The report shows 18% of soybean acres across the state are blooming. That’s 3 percentage points behind last year’s soybean crop, but ahead of the five-year average which shows 16% of soybean acres have typically bloomed in the last full week of June. Despite being behind schedule, corn and soybeans continue to rate well in Iowa. Corn rated 78% good to excellent and soybeans rated 75% good to excellent for the period.
Oats, on the other hand, are ahead of last year’s crop and the five-year average. According to the report, 94% of the crop had headed as of June 28, which is 5 percentage points ahead of 2025 reports and the five-year average. Oats rated 81% good to excellent.
Around 20% of subsoil and topsoil in Iowa was soggy in the previous reporting period, but soil moisture conditions dried up after a week of below-average precipitation. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship reported 69% of topsoil moisture conditions and 67% of subsoil moisture conditions were adequate during the reporting period. Only around 10% of subsoil and topsoil were rated as having surplus moisture for the week.
State Climatologist Justin Glisan’s weekly weather summary found the statewide average precipitation during the reporting period was just over seven-tenths of an inch. The normal for the period is 1.20 inches. Temperatures across Iowa, at an average of 68.2 degrees Fahrenheit were nearly 4 degrees below the climatological normal for the reporting period, according Glisan. A heat wave settled across Iowa on Sunday and the National Weather Service anticipates the extreme temperatures will persist through the July 4th holiday weekend.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the hot temperatures this week should “give the crops a boost.” Naig said the nation’s 250th anniversary on Saturday should serve as a reminder that “agriculture has always been central to our nation’s story.”
