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Do we need to think about conserving soil moisture prior to planting?

March 12, 2024 10:00 AM
Blog Post

It most certainly has been a strange winter with very little moisture. This fact, combined with a multi-year drought has people concerned for spring planting. Most farmers I have talked to this winter have shared concerns about not only the lack of precipitation, but the lack of soil moisture. And while we had outstanding yields in some places in 2023 even with drought conditions, I would point out there is one major difference shaping up so far for 2024.

Northwest Iowa Subsoil Moisture Survey Results Announced

November 15, 2023 7:00 AM
Blog Post

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Field Agronomists have completed their fall survey of subsoil moisture in northwest Iowa. Subsoil moisture sampling in Iowa dates back to February 1954 when ten sites were chosen for soil moisture sampling. In 1959, the sampling increased to 22 locations, and in 1971, 61 locations were sampled. Today, 18 locations are sampled in northwest Iowa.

Weather and Climate Mashup: Recent rains, soil moisture, and winter weather outlooks

November 1, 2023 12:54 PM
Blog Post

The rain that has occurred over the state this fall has been welcomed and sorely needed. However, rainfall totals have been variable across the state and not enough to make up the deficit from the growing season. Northwest Iowa has received the most rainfall, with totals ranging from 3-6”. Parts of east central Iowa have received some similar totals. Northeast Iowa and southern Iowa have received less, with 1-3”. While these are all helpful, the northeast and south are below average for the last 30 days. Growing season departures show the significant shortfall in rains since May 1.

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Spring 2023 Subsoil Moisture Level Report for Northwest Iowa

April 19, 2023 10:04 AM
Blog Post

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has completed their spring survey of subsoil moisture in northwest Iowa.  The amount of subsoil moisture is sampled in the fall and spring across northwest Iowa each year.  Sites within this survey have been sampled for decades providing a historical perspective on subsoil moisture levels.

NW Iowa Subsoil Moistures Improved with Fall Rainfall

December 6, 2021 2:00 PM
Blog Post

11-1-21 NW Iowa Fall Subsoil measurements

The northwest Iowa fall survey of subsoil moisture completed by Iowa State University in November shows improved subsoil moisture at nearly all locations when compared to the fall of 2020. Subsoil moisture levels are checked in the fall in many northwest Iowa counties through this survey.  The survey provides a historical perspective on subsoil moisture levels.

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Nitrogen Deficient Soybean with Excess Soil Moisture

July 13, 2021

Rainfall has been extremely variable this season in Iowa. There has been severe drought in many areas of Iowa. In contrast, rainfall has been excessive in some areas of southeast and southern Iowa. Soybean with poor growth with pale green or yellowish color has been observed in low-laying fields or field depressions with poor drainage and frequent waterlogged soils since May.

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Thinking of Plant Tissue Testing this Season? Beware of Drought or Excess Moisture Effects

July 9, 2021

Corn tassels began showing in some Iowa fields this past week and in the next week corn in most fields will be at the R1 stage (silking). Most soybean fields are at R2 or will be at the R2 to R3 growth stage soon. Nutrient concentrations vary greatly with crop growth stage and plant part sampled. Calibrations of tissue tests based on field response trials for corn and soybean in Iowa and other states have been for leaves at the R1 growth stage in corn and the R2 to R3 growth stage in soybean.

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How does our soil moisture balance sheet look?

June 14, 2021 12:56 PM
Blog Post

The following is a view of the moisture status for six locations in northwest Iowa where the soil was analyzed for spring subsoil moisture.  This discussion may or may not reflect the current soil moisture conditions in your area.  This article does attempt to account for stored soil moisture, 80% of spring rainfall and expected average rainfall for the rest of the growing season.

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FACTS soil moisture benchmarking tool

May 24, 2021 2:43 PM
Blog Post

Sandy to clay soils have different hydrological properties such as wilting point, field capacity, and saturation level (Fig 1a). Wilting point means no water is available to plants, field capacity means near optimum moisture for plant growth, and saturation means the soil pores are full of water. Root growth, plant transpiration, and soil nitrogen mineralization are inhibited by too little or too much soil moisture. Nitrogen losses (denitrification and leaching) and soil water evaporation are favored by excess moisture. Thus, knowing the soil moisture level is critically important.

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Soil moisture benchmark April 19, 2021

April 22, 2021 2:42 PM
Blog Post

The concern for not having enough water during the 2021 growing season is increasing. Observations from Iowa fields (i.e., deep soil samples and tile drainage experiments), and analytical frameworks (i.e., Drought monitor) indicate below normal moisture in parts of Iowa. Here, we benchmark the 2021 spring soil moisture across fields and across profile depths to enhance our understanding of current soil moisture conditions. We simulated 25,000 fields across the US Corn Belt using the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) from 1984 to 2021.

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