After dry conditions in September and October in the state of Iowa that pushed through the majority of the harvest season, November is bringing rain, which one expert claims has been beneficial for field preparations for next year.

According to Dallas County Iowa State University Extension Field Agronomist Meaghan Anderson, prior to the rain, it was hard to pull tillage machinery across the fields or applying anhydrous pneumonia was risky for fields after harvesting crops. She confirms that with the precipitation so far in the first half of November, the crop fields are prime to be in good shape.

“It looks like, at least the first part of November here is remaining in this kind of above average predicted rainfall. Really our soils need the rainfall, so in my mind it’s a pretty good thing to be getting it this time of year, especially when we’ve finished a lot of our fieldwork.”

Anderson cautions farmers to double check grains to make sure they aren’t too wet as mold can grow and pests can potentially damage crops. She notes that the next steps for farmers will be to do fall tillage that was nearly impossible with the lack of moisture. Anderson is seeing more rainfall throughout the rest of November before it transforms into snow in the coming months.