The United States Department of Agriculture categorized more than half of Iowa’s farmland as moisture-deficient on Monday despite an average of 1.5 inches of rainfall last week.

“We could definitely use a couple of inches of rain right now to get things going,” said Russ Meade, who farms soybeans and corn in a farm outside Tiffin, Iowa. “There are some beans just popping their head out of the ground right now. We need to get another inch or two (of rain) to make sure everything that’s still left out there can pop out.”

Iowan’s have not experienced significant rainfall since May 6, according to state climatologist Harry Hillaker, and although the state isn’t facing a record dry spell, high temperatures and low humidity have caused precipitation in the air and ground to evaporate faster than normal.

For more information, read the full articles at the Press-Citizen and The Gazette.