Heavy Rain in Iowa Too Late for Corn

A summer storm Monday drenched large sections of Iowa with up to 6 inches of rain, causing isolated flooding and starting to replenish drought-sapped soil, a process that comes too late for some of the state’s crops.

“It might help the lawns some,” said Keith Hora, who is president of the National Corn Growers Assn. and farms near Riverside. “And the football fields will be green. But the corn is history.”

Farmers around the state welcomed the latest rain, especially those with late-maturing beans and dried-up pastures, Hora said. Farmers with corn or beans in the field are anxious to receive rain so that herbicides and other chemicals will be activated, meaning there will not be carry-over chemical damage next season, he said.

Although soil in most areas soaked up the rain, the downpour caused isolated flooding. In northwest Iowa, the Floyd River spilled out of its banks and caused minor lowland flooding, the National Weather Service said.

Northwest Iowa once again got the heaviest amounts, with rainfall of at least 3 inches common. Sioux Center reported 6.61 inches.

“We got 5 inches, which is more than we’ve seen in a long, long time,” said farmer Chester Anderson of Storm Lake. “It won’t help the corn, but it could help the late beans some.”