(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig is predicting Iowa will retain its spot as the number one corn producing state, despite challenging weather conditions in some areas. “Crop development is really kind of all over the map,” Naig said. “…Generally speaking, drought is the number one issue that folks are thinking about, however there are parts of our state that have gotten exactly what they’ve needed throughout the year and then we’ve got parts of southeast Iowa that have had too much rain.”

The U-S-D-A’s latest crop and weather report shows some corn fields in northwest and west central Iowa were damaged by heavy rain, hail and strong winds in the past week, but 60 percent of Iowa’s corn crop is still rated in good or excellent condition. Naig says the number of acres planted with corn this year will be the deciding factor in keeping Iowa at the forefront in corn production. “We are a big corn user in this state, so the user community, the livestock folks that use corn for feed and the processors are certainly looking at that supply very closely,” Naig says.

Sixty-one percent of Iowa SOYBEANS are in that good or excellent category.  “I think you’re going to see record yields in some places and you’ll yield reductions because of too much water or not enough water in other places,” Naig says, “and the true test is getting out and running the combine in the field and seeing what’s out there.”

The fall harvest of corn and soybeans hasn’t started, but record heat has advanced development of Iowa’s two main cash crops. Corn development statewide is about five days ahead of average, while soybean development is about two days ahead of normal.