Northwest Iowa

Bruce Anderson reports 70+ mph winds this past week, which laid down a lot of the corn but didn’t snap any of it. Other than places suffering wind damage, it looks to be the best crop he has seen in a long time. He also wants farmers to be careful when spraying because he did see one instance of Roundup® drift on Liberty Link® corn.

North Central and Northeast Iowa

Tom Larson has received a few reports of uneven stands in soybean fields in North Central Iowa. In one case, seed maggots caused more than 110 acres to be replanted. A seed-applied insecticide such as Soy Shield Plus, would have prevented such an outbreak. In another instance, planter speed was the problem. Increased speed in a reduced tillage field resulted in very uneven emergence because many beans were left on the soil surface. Much of the corn has started to canopy over the rows. The fields that were planted in high residue are still showing the effects from it with uneven stands and yellow plants. The Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids™ Super Strip Plots look fantastic, and he urges everyone to keep an eye on these plots all season long to get the first look at products that will be in our lineup next year.

West Central Iowa

Travis Slusher reports heavy storms passing through last Tuesday afternoon brought 1.5 inches of rain along with high winds and spotty hail. He spent Wednesday driving through the western part of his area and, for the most part, crops faired extremely well compared to other areas. Jim Heckman and Travis were in fields on Tuesday morning and found corn head high and beans beginning to flower. No signs of any insect pressure, but many beans need to be sprayed when the ground dries enough. The haying season has been a challenge to say the least with many areas having hay on the ground for 10-14 days due to the rain. Some alfalfa has black mold due to all of the moisture.

South Central Iowa

Bart Peterson reports that corn in his area is looking excellent with it being anywhere from waist to chest high. One issue he noticed is some corn-on-corn doesn’t look healthy from too much moisture. He also noticed a little wind damage from recent storms. The beans in his area are perking up and looking good. Plus, there hasn’t been any insect pressure to report.

Eastern Iowa

Brad Beatty’s area also suffered some storm damage the past week. Winds were clocked at 80+ miles per hour (mph). As a result, several varieties took a beating. Dry weather is needed to spray soybeans. The wet weather and strong winds are making it a challenge to make hay, spray pastures and mow oats. Leaf hoppers are heavy in the alfalfa and must be sprayed! Many bean fields are weedy and need to be sprayed ASAP.

South Dakota

Eastern South Dakota has received rain on a daily basis this past week, according to Bill Eichacker. The wet weather is making putting up alfalfa a nightmare. Forage harvestors are blowing the hay back on the field. Second crop alfalfa is growing through the window. The corn crop has grown quickly and has canopied. As a result, the corn plants are holding back some of the weed pressure. The added heat and humidity has really pushed the corn crop growth, but too much rainwater sitting in the fields for days is cutting off oxygen to the plant making it yellow. Soybeans have finally seen the sun. The past week’s cool and cloudy days are not beneficial for soybeans. Spraying of row crops is a challenge due to wet field conditions and taller corn.

Minnesota

Jason Obermeyer reports that corn is really pushing hard to make up for lost time in May. Within the past week, corn has doubled in size and will continue to do so with daytime temps in the 80′s and nights in the upper 60′s. He’s seeing rat-tailed leaves on corn as well as really brittle stalks. Both are due to the speed at which the plant is growing. Leaves are coming out so quickly that some of them aren’t unrolling completely before the nexst one is out, giving it the appearance of herbicidal injury when, in fact, it’s a case of too fast too soon. Stalk brittleness is a major concern, in most fields, regardless of hybrid number or brand, you can push on stalks and they will snap right off. This will be a challenge for standability in the event of heavy rain and high winds. Beans are really growing. Bean fields that were planted early, had seed treatment and were plowed really look good. All three of these factors have played into making strides in the pursuit of higher yield, especially in a May that was mostly cold and wet early, then dry.

Wisconsin

Steve Bailie reports that the corn in the area is growing very rapidly due to the amount of heat his area received in the past four to five days. Corn is 95% canopied in the area, only the late-planted fields have not made it to canopy yet. The majority of the corn has been sprayed except for the fungicides that must be sprayed with airplanes. Beans have started to grow faster and are turning the deep green that they should be instead of the pale yellow that they have been the last two weeks due to cold weather. Steve found the first aphids of the season on Wednesday afternoon, but there weren’t enough to worry about spraying for them yet. Most of the first crop hay is getting wrapped up this week, and a few farmers are getting started on the second crop. Parts of the area received much needed rainfall late last week. Steve says rainfall this year has been the spottiest he’s ever seen, and it’s making many famers nervous. All in all, the crops have had what they need to get a great yield started.

Here’s the latest planting update excerpted from the June 23 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service bulletin (for week ending June 20):

Corn: The 2009 corn crop continued to develop at a slower-than-normal pace in many locations across the Corn Belt because of delayed spring planting. In Iowa, the largest corn-producing State, emergence was nearly complete, buEditt the average height of this year’s crop was shorter than normal. Overall, 70 percent of the crop was rated in good to excellent condition, unchanged from a week ago, but 11 points better than a year ago.

Soybeans: Soybean producers had planted 91 percent of this year’s soybean crop by June 21, one point ahead of last year, but 4 points behind the 5-year average. Planting was complete or nearly complete across the Great Plains and most of the Delta and Corn Belt. However, with just 79 percent of the intended acreage in the ground, planting in Illinois, the second largest soybean-producing state, remained over 3 weeks behind normal. Emergence reached 84 percent complete by week’s end, 4 points ahead of 2009, but 6 points behind the average. Following several weeks of intense planting, favorable growing conditions allowed for rapid crop development in North Dakota where 25 percent of the crop emerged during the week. Overall, 67 percent of the soybean crop was rated in good to excellent condition, a slight improvement from a week ago and 10 points better than last year.