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Only three percent of Iowa’s corn acreage has been planted, according to the Iowa Crops and Weather Report released Monday by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Services (NASS).

Last year at the same time, 61 percent of the corn crop had been planted. The five-year average is 28 percent.

The report from NASS said that wet and cold conditions suspended field work last week and that a few producers are concerned about having to re-plant fields if corn does not germinate and develop.

Only one-half day last week was suitable for field work, according to the report.

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As of Monday, 8 percent of Iowa’s corn acreage had been planted, which compares with 82 percent a year ago and the five-year average of 48 percent, according to the weekly crop report issued by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Dan Gaffney, who started planting his 52nd corn crop Sunday on his farm near Lamont, said he was surprised how much the soil dried out over the weekend. “Lots of wind and a little sun on Sunday really helped,” he said.

Until planters started rolling this week, farmers were “starting to get a little worried,” said Jim Fawcett, an ISU Extension field agronomist based in Iowa City.

Their big concern, he said, is the loss of yield potential, which begins to decline dramatically after May 20.

After that date, the average yield loss is about 10 percent, said Fawcett. “By the end of May, the average loss can be as much as 30 percent,” he said.

With corn prices at record levels, farmers are even more reluctant than usual to suffer yield losses, said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, who, like most Iowa farmers, just started planting corn this week.

“I’m not nervous, not yet,” said Mark Recker, 41, who until the weekend had yet to plant any of the 1,400 acres he farms near Arlington in Fayette County.

Last year, which was characterized by optimum planting conditions after mid-April, Recker started planting corn on April 20 — his earliest corn planting date since he started farming in 1994.

“This year, it just feels like you’re only going to get short windows, so you’d better be ready,” he said.