(Radio Iowa) – The latest U-S-D-A crop report shows 57 percent of the corn crop is rated good and 29 percent is rated excellent. Sixty percent of the soybeans are rated in good condition and 21 percent are rated excellent. During an interview at the Iowa State Fair, Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says most of the state’s crops survived the recent derecho and other storms. “This time of year of course it can be very damaging, to a corn crop in particular when winds come like that. By and large, aside from those relatively isolated severe weather incidents, we’ve had a pretty good year by comparison. Many, many more tornadoes last year,” he says.

Naig says they are still trying to determine the extent of the crop damage. “We don’t have a total amount just yet, but there will be damage, there is crop damage in some parts of the state,” Naig says. He says the storms are the biggest wild card in farming. “Weather is one of those things that is so impactful — in fact the most impactful on your operation, ” Naig says, “and it’s one of those things they can’t control. In fact, they’ve got no control over it.”

Naig says after five years of drought it is has been good to see timely rains this year for the growing season.