Northwest Iowa
Bruce Anderson says crops in his area received beneficial rains that were needed. The weeds are under control, and the corn is growing fast. Now, he’s just hoping the high humidity doesn’t cause high winds or hail to damage such good looking crops.

North Central and Northeast Iowa
Tom Larson reports that the crops are really starting to look good. Timely rains this past week, combined with warmer temperatures, really contributed to plant growth.

Central Iowa
Bob Collins believes one of the prettiest sights in Iowa is when the corn is almost shading the row, and this is the stage that most corn in central Iowa is in now. Soybeans are a long way from shading the row, but they are very nicely rowed.
Another pretty sight is when a grassy and weedy field has been sprayed long enough to see that the Roundup® is working. The bright green rows emerging from the pale green is something to behold. Maybe the reason Bob thinks this is so amazing is because he can remember the days when only a cultivator was used to remove grass from the field. He had to check the corn, so it could be cultivated both ways without auto steer.
With all the rains lately, some corn fields have not been sprayed but most fields planted to Roundup Ready Corn can still be cleaned up with very little yield loss.

West Central Iowa
Travis Slusher reports rain, rain and more rain! This week his farm received 1.5 inches of rain with nearby farms receiving in excess of 2 inches. Last week his farm received more than 2 inches of rain, while many other farms in the area received in excess of 3 inches during that for same time period. Given all of the rain, Travis said area crops don’t look too bad. There have been isolated areas of hail, with minor damage to the crops in these areas. The majority of the corn in his area is canopied or very near canopy with most soybeans in the V2 to V4 range. A stretch of dry weather is needed, so farmers can spray. There is significant weed pressure in beans and smaller corn.

East Central Iowa
Wayde McNeil reports corn is at V7 to V9 growth stage. Beans are at the V3 to V4 growth stage. He said they could use more heat because they are behind on heat units. Half of the hay is still in the field because of the wet weather. He hasn’t seen any major insect pressure at this time

South Central Iowa
Bart Peterson says corn is really looking nice, and he has seen some corn plants that are already chest high. Soybeans could use more heat to help them reach their yield potential. No insect pressure is evident at this time.

Eastern Iowa
Brad Beatty reports the corn has really grown this past week due to lots of rain and heat. Most corn has canopied. However, the rain has slowed down fieldwork. A lot of beans still need to be sprayed. Some hay has been cut for 10 days now without a chance to get it baled.

South Dakota
Bill Eichacker reports that corn has really pushed through its stages as finally the heat has come back along with the humidity from the rains. Bean leaf beetles have been seen in bean fields as has volunteer corn, thanks to the 60+ mile-per-hour winds that occurred last year. Sprayers are going when possible. Winds and wet low spots in the fields are making it a challenge to get the spraying done.

Alfalfa harvest is lagging 10% behind last year due to rain. Some acres have not been completely cut and will face missing one cutting as the 30-day window approaches when the first cutting is normally put up. Frequent rains have made it a struggle for producers who want to bale hay. Parts of his region have received more than 2 inches of rain in a single day. Parts of South Dakota on Tuesday had severe weather with high winds and large jagged hail.

Nebraska
Brian Banks reports that it finally rained in his area. During the past two weeks, they’ve had 4 to 8 inches across his territory. Crops look very good, with a few isolated areas damaged by hail.

Minnesota
Jason Obermeyer says crop conditions have improved throughout the week due to warmer temperatures and much needed rainfall. Unfortunately, recent severe storms caused considerable crop damage in the Austin and Rose Creek areas. Applications of fungicides following hail events have shown some yield increases but as always follow label directions.