Iowa Ag Secretary says drought is easing, for now


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Iowa Ag Secretary says drought is easing, for now

Beneficial weather has helped ease drought conditions in Iowa.

Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the state has seen much-needed rain.

“Especially in western Iowa and northwest Iowa. And you couple that timely rain with some cooler temperatures right when those tassels were starting to pop on corn, you just could not have ordered it up any better.”

But he tells Brownfield a hot, dry forecast through at least the end of July has him concerned.

“I think we’re going to sit on that knife’s edge really all the rest of the year. I don’t expect the Drought Monitor to significantly improve in the state of Iowa, so I think we’re going to continue to see that 70-plus percent of the state in some sort of a drought classification.”

The latest Drought Monitor shows the northern half of Iowa still classified as being in moderate to severe drought.