Iowa Crop Progress & Condition Report – November 9
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is issued weekly from April to November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this period.
"A wet start to November slowed harvest progress across Iowa, but cooler and drier conditions over the weekend aided combines again," stated Secretary Naig. "Soybean harvest nears completion, and farmers continue making steady progress on the remaining corn crop. With a dry week in the forecast, farmers should have an opportunity to push harvest along."
Crop Report
There were 1.7 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending November 8, 2026. Topsoil moisture conditions were 2% short, 71% adequate, and 27% surplus. Subsoil moisture conditions were 5% short, 77% adequate, and 18% surplus. As of now, 72% of corn has been harvested, lagging 17 percentage points behind the five-year average. Ninety-three percent of soybeans have been harvested, slightly behind the five-year average at 2 percentage points.
The weekly report is available on the USDA’s website: Crop Progress.
Weather Summary
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
The first full week of November was unseasonably wet across the state, with many stations reporting over a month’s worth of rainfall. Temperatures remained warm, with the highest positive departures over northern Iowa. The statewide average temperature was 49.5 degrees, 7.8 degrees above normal.
Sunday (1st) afternoon was overcast statewide with southeasterly winds and temperatures in the low 60s. Showers moved in overnight into Monday (2nd) as southerly winds became blustery ahead of two low pressure systems from the High Plains. Rain spread across the state and held into Tuesday (3rd). Heavier rain arrived on Election Day evening as a cold front approached from the west. Temperatures ranged from the low 50s west to upper 60s east, ahead of the low’s associated cold front.
Morning lows on Wednesday (4th) were in the mid 40s west and several degrees warmer east, with westerly winds, light rain, and patchy fog. Event rainfall totals were highest in south-central Iowa, with several stations in Clarke County reporting over 2.50 inches; Osceola recorded 2.97 inches, and three Murray stations registered between 3.09 to 3.26 inches. More than 250 stations reported at least an inch, with a statewide average of 1.24 inches. Light showers pushed in behind the exiting low pressure system as northwesterly winds brought clouds and daytime highs from the low 40s to low 50s across the state on Thursday (5th). Clouds began clearing over northeastern Iowa by Friday (6th) morning, with lows in the 30s north to 40s south. Sunshine returned to most of the state by the afternoon. Pockets of frozen fog were observed at several stations on Saturday (7th) morning, with temperatures at or below freezing statewide. Southerly winds and sunshine helped push temperatures into the mid to upper 50s on Sunday (8th). Westerly winds developed on Sunday morning with temperatures in the 30s; stations in southern Iowa reported lows in the low to mid 40s.
Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 0.20 inch in Clinton (Clinton County) to 3.50 inches in Mount Ayr (Ringgold County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 1.47 inches, slightly more than triple the normal of 0.48 inch.