AgricultureID

State · US-IA

Iowa

Iowa lies almost entirely in the hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) zone, with warm, humid summers, cold winters, and precipitation concentrated in the growing season — a classic Corn Belt climate. Killing frosts bound a field season running from roughly late April to mid-October.

Major crop systems

  • Rainfed maize–soybean two-year rotation
  • Maize for grain, livestock feed, and ethanol
  • Alfalfa and hay for forage

Major livestock systems

  • Confined hog (swine) finishing — the largest concentration in the United States
  • Cattle feeding and cow–calf operations
  • Egg-layer poultry

Agricultural land: Iowa is among the most intensively farmed states in the country; deep, fertile prairie-derived Mollisols across the Des Moines Lobe and the loess-mantled uplands support near-continuous row-crop cultivation over most of the state. Irrigation: Production is overwhelmingly rainfed; irrigation is minor and largely confined to sandy soils and a few specialty crops.

Agroecological zones: Dfa (Hot-summer humid continental)

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship — State department for agriculture, soil conservation, and agricultural programs.
  • Iowa State University Extension and Outreach — Land-grant research and extension for crops, livestock, and farm management.
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Iowa are published by USDA NASS and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • A statewide profile conceals differences between the intensively cropped central and northern plains and the more dissected, mixed land use of the loess-hill margins.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 543 named soil bodies in Iowa, with surface pH from 4.6 to 8.2 and organic matter from 0.0% to 75.0%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in Iowa, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
FayetteAlfisols6.21–320–29Well drained454in 34 survey areas
ShelbyAlfisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)5.6–6.51.5–3.522.5–33Well drained268in 38 survey areas
ColoMollisols6–6.74–67.5–31.5Poorly drained262in 72 survey areas
GaraAlfisols5.9–6.81.5–318–31Well drained254in 42 survey areas
DownsAlfisols6–6.21.5–3.520–29.5Well drained223in 30 survey areas
LindleyAlfisols5.5–6.30.5–2.511–31Well drained212in 42 survey areas
SpartaEntisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.2–6.41.4–1.56–6.5Excessively drained192in 45 survey areas
ClarionInceptisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.2–6.52.5–3.518–31Moderately well drained to Well drained189in 29 survey areas
LadogaAlfisols6–6.91.5–322.5–31Moderately well drained171in 28 survey areas
StordenInceptisols7–7.91.5–318–28.5Well drained170in 31 survey areas
ChelseaEntisols6.1–6.50.5–1.255–11.5Excessively drained168in 35 survey areas
TamaInceptisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.2–6.52–424–31Well drained166in 30 survey areas
MononaInceptisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)5.7–6.51.5–3.423–30Well drained161in 11 survey areas
AdairAlfisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)5.9–6.51.5–3.725–38.5Somewhat poorly drained156in 33 survey areas
DickinsonInceptisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.2–6.51.5–2.510–15Moderately well drained to Well drained152in 50 survey areas
SpillvilleMollisols6.5–6.73.5–1022–24Moderately well drained to Somewhat poorly drained147in 57 survey areas
ClintonAlfisols6.2–6.31–2.521–32Moderately well drained136in 23 survey areas
ColandMollisols6.2–6.76–730–31Poorly drained131in 45 survey areas
ArmstrongAlfisols5.9–6.81.5–2.524–31Somewhat poorly drained130in 30 survey areas
ZookMollisols6.1–6.72.5–723–42Poorly drained to Very poorly drained128in 55 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

19.6% of Iowa’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
69.5%
D0 · not drought
10.9%
D1
19.1%
D2
0.5%
D3
0.0%
D4
0.0%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

48 stations in Iowa publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
ALBIA 3 NNE, IA US50.0°F36.48 in134.7
BELLEVUE L&D 12, IA US48.7°F37.81 in145.8
BLOOMFIELD, IA US51.2°F39.10 in128.3
BOONE, IA US48.1°F39.14 in153.0
BURLINGTON MUNI AP, IA US51.9°F37.86 in118.5
CASCADE, IA US47.9°F39.31 in152.5
CASTANA EXP FARM, IA US48.2°F32.11 in144.1
CEDAR RAPIDS #1, IA US49.9°F38.75 in134.2

Eight of 48 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  3. [3]Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (opens in a new tab)

    Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

    High

    Cited for: Iowa crop and livestock production context

    Type:
    University extension service
    Jurisdiction:
    United States (Iowa)
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12