Blooms visible on a soybean plant in mid July. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa corn and soybean crops are generally in good to excellent condition, according to the latest report, even while parts of the state were hit with heavy rains that triggered disaster assistance from a federal agency for houses and businesses in certain counties.
Corn grown for grain in Iowa rated 80% good to excellent and soybean crop condition was rated 78% good to excellent in the latest crop progress and condition report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Corn silking reached 87% across the state for the July 20 through July 26 reporting period. This is 6 percentage points ahead of the 2025 crop and 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average.
Twenty-eight percent of corn acres had corn in the dough stage during the reporting period, which was 4 percentage points behind last year, but 3 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. This was also an increase from the week prior, when just 8% of the crop had reached the dough stage.
Soybeans blooming reached 80% which is 1 percentage point ahead of the year prior and 1 percentage point behind the five-year average. Nearly half, 48%, of soybeans were setting pods, which is slightly behind last year’s pace and 3 percentage points ahead of the five-year average.
Oats rated 82% good to excellent and the harvest of the crop continues to be significantly ahead of the 2025 crop. With 67% of the crop harvested as of the reporting period, it was 20 percentage points ahead of harvest from the year prior.
Soil moisture conditions were rated short for 27% of topsoil and 28% of subsoil.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said “many” areas of the state could “use a good rain.”
“As I’ve traveled across Iowa in recent weeks, I’ve generally seen strong crop conditions, though wind, hail and pockets of both excessive rainfall and persistent dryness have created some variability,” Naig said in a statement.
Naig noted the “stifling” temperatures and humidity toward the end of the week are forecast to “break” toward the middle of the coming week.
Despite the high temperatures at the end of the reporting period, State Climatologist Justin Glisan’s weekly weather report shows the statewide average temperature for the period, at 72.2 degrees Fahrenheit, was slightly below the climatological normal.
While more of Iowa slid into moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions during the reporting period, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the statewide average precipitation was 0.99 inch, about one-tenth of an inch more than the normal.
Glisan reported several severe weather events at the beginning of the reporting period. Storms on July 20 had strong wind gusts and “torrential downpours” in some areas and 2- to 3-inch-diameter hail and tornadoes in other parts of the state.
Federal disaster loans available to eight Iowa counties
The U.S. Small Business Association granted Gov. Kim Reynolds’ request to make low-income disaster loans available to homeowners, renters, businesses, and most nonprofit organizations in Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Polk, Story, and Warren counties that were affected by flooding and severe storms over the July Fourth weekend.
Some of these areas received more than two months’ worth of rain in a period of several days. While the Small Business Association cannot provide loans for agricultural losses, it can offer homeowners up to $100,000 in low-interest loans to repair personal property, and loans of up to $2 million for businesses and nonprofits that sustained damage from the storms.
Those interested in applying for the aid can reach out to their local Disaster Loan Outreach Center or apply online.