In northeast Iowa, the first green spikes of corn are finally pushing through the soil this week. And for farmer Darrick Burnikel, the emergence is a welcome sight after a spring defined less by moisture concerns and more by a stubborn lack of warmth.
“I don’t think you could ask for anything better than this,” Burnikel says as he inspects his corn stands just north of Cresco, Iowa.
This spring, moisture in the seedbed wasn’t the limiting factor. Instead, it was the cool conditions that slowed everything down just enough to make farmers watch and wait.
“We had adequate moisture down there in the seedbed,” Burnikel says. “This was fall stripped and then just planted on. So we had moisture to germinate. We were just lacking the heat.”
Dry Conditions Helped Fields Stay Fit
Across northeast Iowa, conditions have been unusual. While dryness helped keep fields workable, temperatures repeatedly lagged behind seasonal norms.
“It is definitely not average,” Burnikel says. “We were dry and cool.”
Even as planting season approached, the region continued to deal with persistent cold snaps, including patchy frost and soil temperatures that refused to climb.
“It was pretty steady,” Burnikel says. “We were still having forecasts of low thirties. You would wake up in the morning and there would be some patchy frost. Soil temperatures were just cold. We were dry though, which made guys feel a little better as far as seed chilling.”
That stretch of cool weather even reached fields just one mile from the Minnesota border, where temperature swings remained more dramatic than normal. Still, there were brief windows of relief.
“And over the weekend we scored some really good heat units, pushing 80 to 85,” Burnikel says.
But those warmer periods were short-lived, sandwiched between cooler days that defined most of early spring.
“We welcomed the dryness, everybody was getting excited,” Burnikel says. “But our temperatures were so cold. We were still seeing frost, low 30s at night, highs in the 50s, and a couple teaser 70 to 80 degree days. Soil conditions were great.”
Planting Progress Moved Quickly
Once May arrived, however, planting momentum took over. Even with lingering cool conditions, equipment rolled and stayed rolling across much of the region.
“It was just a steady race,” Burnikel says. “From May 1st to May 10th, it was about wrapped up, corn and beans. A lot of guys commented that it was one of the smoothest springs they had.”
With most acres planted early, emergence timing became the next concern. But in many cases, that delay actually worked in farmers’ favor, allowing crops to avoid the worst of spring’s scattered frost events.
“This was planted, I believe, May 9th. Today is the 18th, so nine days,” Burnikel says. “That is pretty nice up here to get it out of the ground. That means it did not have any struggles.”
Fields planted just days apart are now showing clear differences in growth stages, all influenced by when warmth finally arrived.
“There is corn planted a week earlier that is about right here at this stage,” Burnikel says. “Nothing was really coming up much prior to the Friday night rain. We had a really warm weekend. It just gave it enough heat and loosened up the soil on top to push it through.”
“But honestly, this next few days, you see a lot of emerged corn. Four or five days ago, you could hardly find any,” he adds.
Fertilizer Costs Limited Acre Shifts
Typically, such a smooth and rapid planting window would prompt farmers to plant more corn instead of switching to soybeans. But he says that wasn’t the case this year. Input costs, and the price of fertilizer, kept farmers from making that switch.
“Personally, I had my fertilizer booked for all corn acres,” Burnikel says. “Early spring guys would contact me about switching acres to corn, but then they would talk to their fertilizer retailer or catch wind of what that is going to cost and it kind of steered them away. I really do not feel I lost any acres to beans.”
Rain and Warmth Push Crop Ahead
Now, as emergence lines up across the region, Burnikel says the crop looks strong — and timely moisture helped seal the deal.
“This emergence, I could not ask for anything better than this,” Burnikel says.
Recent rainfall arrived just as some fields were beginning to dry out, helping ensure seedlings had what they needed to push through.
“We were fortunate enough to get a little half inch on Friday night and another half inch,” Burnikel says. “Just right to get it out of the ground.”
Optimism Remains Despite Market Swings
After one of the more efficient planting windows in recent memory, optimism is cautiously building that both the crop and market conditions can continue in a positive direction.
“Oh, we are always optimistic,” Burnikel says. “It is one thing that keeps myself and all the rest of the farmers going.”
“I mean, the markets, they have been up and down. Today we have seen a nice rebound. That makes people happy. We caught a little rain. So if Mother Nature and the markets can be nice to us, that is what we are asking for.”
Follow along on the Wyffels Plant Your Independence Tour as growers give updates through the planting and harvest season.
