Iowa State University Extension is reporting low subsoil moisture levels in northwest Iowa following completion of their fall survey.
According to the survey, Newell has a moisture deficit of 4.50…Schaller has a deficit of 4.01…Rolfe is down 4.26…and the deficit in Battle Creek is 2.52. Much of northwest Iowa was in drought classification over the summer, and the Iowa Drought Monitor showed that conditions intensified beginning in late September.
ISU field agronomists say subsoil moisture can be replenished from rainfall when the ground thaws in the spring through the months of March and April. Typical rainfall in March and April is three to five inches. Approximately 80-percent of that rainfall will contribute to subsoil moisture reserves.
