Warm, dry weather re-opens planting window for farmers

May 8, 2025 | Kriss Nelson

After a short break, Mother Nature is finally cooperating, giving farmers drier conditions to finish planting.

This week’s Iowa Crop Progress and Conditions report shows farmers planted 38% of the soybean crop, one week ahead of last year and two days ahead of the five-year average.

Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) farmer member Kevin Prevo of Bloomfield said he planted all of his crops the week of April 14. While Prevo had a smooth planting season, the windy weather has presented spraying challenges on his farm in Davis County.

“Everything is coming up nice,” he says. “The upcoming heat should be good.”

ISA farmer-member Tim Kaldenberg says he prioritizes planting soybeans first on his farm near Albia. He planted most of his soybean crop before Easter, and expects to plant the rest today while he finishes corn planting.

Crops in his neighborhood appear to be emerging, a welcomed sign from the recent temperature warm-up.

Kaldenberg, who was guiding his tractor and planter in the corn field, said he was pleased with the soil conditions.

“I am no-till planting into soybean stubble, and this ground is just perfect for planting,” he says, adding that waiting a few extra days and allowing the ground to dry made a big difference.

According to Justin Glisan, the state’s climatologist, the short-term weather outlook looks favorable for farmers planting their last acres.

“After a long delay since April 21, the next 7 to 10 days are looking ideal for farmers,” says Glisan. “We should continue to see above-average temperatures, and besides some slight chances mid-week, I am not expecting any significant chances for rainfall.”

Further into the second half of the month, Glisan says signals continue to call for warmer temperatures and increased chances of rain.

“We are transitioning after this drier stretch over the next several days back toward the potential for above-normal precipitation across the state,” he says.

Early growing season weather outlook

Glisan's forecast for May-July shows most of Iowa experiencing warm weather, particularly the southern and western portions. Drier conditions are anticipated in western Iowa.

“There is no clear signal right now,” he says. “That’s because we are currently in neutral conditions — neither El Niño nor La Niña. While other large-scale patterns in the Pacific can influence where the storm track sets up over the U.S., what we’re seeing in the short term — the warm and generally quiet weather over the next week or so — is due to a blocking high-pressure system over the upper Midwest.”

Glisan added this high is a stable atmospheric feature that disrupts the usual west-to-east flow across the United States. As a result, the jet stream is diverted to the north and south of our region, keeping us in a quiet weather pattern with limited storm activity. However, once that blocking high weakens and moves, we expect a shift back toward a more active storm track by the end of May.

Input needed

Glisan says they are encouraging farmers to share their conditions and concerns for better information for the drought monitor.

“We started moving out of the longest drought since the 1950s around this time last year, but longer-term hydrological impacts remain. Right now, 44% of the state is categorized as Abnormally Dry (D0) with 7% of Iowa in Moderate Drought (D1), particularly across pockets in northwest, southwest and eastern Iowa. Given the longer term precipitation deficits, if we do get into a warm and dry pattern, we could backslide into widespread drought,” he said. “Hearing observations and impacts from our farmers help us match conditions with what we’re seeing in our model and satellite, remote-sensed products; this helps us give a better recommendation to the federal authors each week.”

To supply information, you can email Glisan at Justin.Glisan@IowaAgriculture.gov or submit a report to the Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) system here.

Article by Kriss Nelson

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