OSKALOOSA —
Recent rainfall fell short for Mahaska County corn crops.
Bob Wells, Agricultural Economics and Farm Management with the Mahaska County ISU Extension Office, said the recent rain in Mahaska County was not very beneficial to corn because that particular crop is past the stage where rain could help it.
Soybeans are another story, according to Wells. On Monday, Wells noted that he doesn’t want to say that recent rainfall will increase soybean yields come harvest time. However, Wells did say that the rain will give area soybean crops the ability to possibly get better fills in their pods.
“In the last two weeks, it has stabilized somewhat,” said Wells in regard to the soybean crops.
By Sunday, the Oskaloosa area had gotten three inches of rain over the previous three days, noted Wells.
“It was a heavy rain but the river level wasn’t up this morning, which indicates it soaked in,” said Wells Monday morning, adding that this will mean better surface moisture. “I’m just thankful we got some rain.”
Back in July, Wells said a lot of corn in Mahaska County had suffered severely from the drought. At that time, he noted that some corn stalks hadn’t produced a single ear of corn.
Obviously, the lack of measurable rainfall and high temperatures had not helped the growth cycle of corn and soybeans in July. Wells noted that these conditions harmed the pollination phase of the local corn crop at that time.
It’s been bad before.
In July, Wells said it had been many years since Mahaska County had seen a drought of this nature. He cited severe droughts in 1988 and 1983 as examples of such dry conditions.
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Herald City Editor Andy Goodell can be reached at news2@oskyherald.com.
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