(ABC 6 News) — After experiencing a nearly year-long drought lasting until May of 2024, recent rainfall has left many crops in a precarious position, leaving farmers in Iowa hoping for a dry spell. 

According to the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released Monday July 8, July’s first reporting period was unseasonably wet for most of Iowa, with many areas observing at least 150% of normal rainfall.

“Many parts of Iowa experienced a wet start to July,” said Mike Naig, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. “Now, we’re hoping for some summer heat to provide a much-needed boost to our crops. With the continued impacts of Hurricane Beryl influencing the weather pattern, forecasts indicate a calmer storm track for Iowa and increased chances of warmer temperatures over the next few weeks.”

At a field day at Kittleson Bros farmland near Fertile held July 10, farmer Steve Rachut said the next week’s moisture will decide the fate of much of his sixty-plus acres of onion and potato crop. 

Rachut, his wife and co-owner Beth and business partner Adam Koch stand between rows of onions. They were planted on May 25. The tentacle-like leaves protruding upward about fourteen inches are a shade of medium to deep green, but the field is peppered with tops that are yellowed from pooled water. 

“The potential is still there, but I mean,” Rachut chuckles in his field as a light drizzle falls. “We’re really wet. If we were to get another three or four inches today, it wouldn’t be too good.” 

Peat is highly resistant to drought, but heavy pooling of water on onion and potato crop can quickly do serious damage to the roots. 

“The complete opposite of last year,” said Koch. “And even more than in wet years past. We went from extreme drought to very wet, we’re spending a lot of days trying to get standing water off of fields, being low-lying as we are, the tile drainage can only handle so much.”

“You have the good years and the bad years,” said Rachut, “… and the story has yet to be told on how this year’s yield will turn out so we’re hoping for some dry weather and looking for things to hopefully turn around and straighten out.” 

The field day was sponsored by Practical Farmers of Iowa, an Ames-based organization that promotes resilient farming practices. 

Jacqueline Venner Senske, education coordinator at PFI, applauded the Kittleson operation for using heavy-organic matter peat soil, keeping the diversity of the landscape intact for generations, and for sustaining local markets with their produce. 

“They’re showing what else is possible on Iowa land,” said Senske,  ” … for field crop farmers who are growing corn and soybeans to see what it could look like to grow a high-value vegetable crop on fewer acres. Having more diverse crops on the landscape makes the land more resilient, and makes our communities more resilient.” 

Find out more about Kittleson Bros farms here or at their website.