Iowa farmers made exceptional planting progress during the week ending May 17, 2026, capitalizing on a stretch of dry weather that provided the most suitable fieldwork conditions of the spring season so far.
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service crop progress report recorded 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork during the week — the longest such stretch since planting began this spring. The favorable conditions allowed producers across the state to rapidly advance both corn and soybean planting.
Corn planting moved from 42 percent complete to 72 percent complete in a single week, pulling even with last year's pace and running nine percentage points ahead of the five-year average. Corn emergence stood at 19 percent statewide.
Soybean planting also made significant gains, reaching 60 percent complete — even with last year and 12 percent above the five-year average. Seven percent of soybeans had already emerged from the ground.
The productive planting week came to an abrupt end with the arrival of severe weather on Sunday evening, May 17, which brought tornadoes, damaging winds, and widespread power outages to Northwest Iowa. Fieldwork conditions are expected to be limited early in the week of May 18 as producers and communities assess storm damage and wait for fields to dry.
Despite the weather interruption, the strong planting progress puts Iowa's corn and soybean crops in a favorable position heading into the critical early-season growth period.