An unseasonably dry spring induced a moderate drought in the southeastern quadrant of Iowa, the country’s leader in corn and soy production, the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor reports.
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory yesterday after heat index values reached between 101-105 F, a chief concern for farm operators working on Iowa’s 87,000-plus farms. “If we continue to see these high temperatures and lack of precipitation, I can see us quickly evolving into what we like to call a ‘flash drought,’ which is when we have this rapid onset of high temperatures combined with a lack of precipitation that really starts to desiccate our soils and stunt our crop growth,” Climatologist Deborah Bathke told Radio Iowa.
Moderate drought, a step worse than “abnormally dry” on the five-step ratings used by the Monitor, covered 12 percent of Iowa and 2 percent of the Midwest, the heart of corn and soybean production. An additional 32 percent of Iowa, covering much of the southern half of the state, was abnormally dry. A week ago, 27 percent of Iowa was abnormally dry with no area listed in drought. The USDA reports that 80 percent of the soybean crop and 79 percent of corn in Iowa was in good or excellent condition at the beginning of this week.