Chilly soil temperatures kept planters in the shed across most of Iowa last week, and farmers aren’t expecting a lot of movement until a warming trend arrives, even as the April 11 crop insurance planting date passes.

"The cold little rains we’ve been having have been bringing soil temperatures down," said Angie Reick-Hinz, an Iowa State University Extension field agronomist covering north-central Iowa. "In my nine-county area, soil temperatures a week ago were around 45 degrees. Yesterday (April 6) they were around 41 degrees."

Corn requires soil temperatures of at least 50 degrees to germinate.

So, while farmers are eager to get started planting the 2016 crop, it’s too early to push it, said Ben Albright, who farms in Calhoun County.

"We’ve got a couple of weeks before we get worried about it," he said.

Soil temps in southeast...