(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa State University weather and climate specialist says the rain we are getting is welcome for farmers across the state. Madelynn Wustenberg says improved soil moisture will support crops as they enter a critical part of the growing season. Most of the state is planted for corn and soybeans at this point and emergence is really starting to look good. So this is a really good time to have some of that rainfall so that we can, yeah, just get some moisture to those roots and get plants really popping up,” she says.

Wustenburg says the corn and soybeans should both benefit. “I would expect that we see some pretty decent growth in the next few days,” Wustenburg says. She says the rains this week will help the state catch up to get closer to normal for the month. “Climatologically what we would expect in mid-May is anywhere from around an inch to an inch and a quarter, maybe even an inch and half per week. So we’re definitely behind with the past couple of weeks being pretty dry across the state,” she says.

Wustenburg the soil moisture profile has been pretty similar to the same time last year prior to the latest rains.