Wisconsin

Steve Bailie reports everything is looking fabulous in his territory. About 95% of the corn is canopied and is shoulder to head high in the southwestern part of his territory. He’s really impressed with Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids LH 5266 3000GT. About 75% of the beans are canopied and are about knee high. Latham Hi-Tech Soybeans L 2440 R2 is looking awesome in the field. He is seeing a few grasshoppers on the beans. But if Mother Nature will allow, they will have a bumper crop in his state.

Central Iowa

Kevin Meyer reports another week of very wet and stormy weather in his territory. Some areas received upwards of 8 to 9 inches of rain last week. Corn continues to progress at a steady pace although there is some stress from extreme moisture. Overall, corn is rated good to excellent in the region. Soybeans have suffered somewhat. Bacterial Leaf Blight and Brown Spot have appeared. He’s hoping drier weather will help eliminate some of these problems. Thankfully, this week has brought sunshine and 80 degree temperatures.

Bob Collins’ area received more than 4 inches of rain last weekend. The excess moisture is starting to cause problems in the low areas of the field. Many fields are showing the wet spots with short yellow corn. Where the drainage is good the corn is really growing and a few fields are close to tasseling. Most of the bean fields that were sprayed are looking good.

North Central Iowa

A week of wild weather has finally calmed down in Tom Larson’s region. North Central Iowa was hit by tornadoes, high winds, massive rains, and highs in the 90’s. Tom is starting to notice agronomic differences in varieties and hybrids in his Super Strip plots. Products that were bred for North Iowa soils are doing great; products from competitive seed companies that have to work across a broader geographic area are showing the expected stresses from high pH and cysts.

South Central Iowa

It’s the same old story for Travis Slusher’s region: rain. He received 2.1 inches of rain between Saturday and Sunday at his place, but the northern part of his territory was hit much harder. Fortunately, the southern part of his territory was spared as they got hit the hardest during the previous storm system. The current weather pattern seems to have improved, which should allow sprayers to get across some much needed acres. The southern part of the region should be able to get in the fields later this week to finish up the last acres of beans that need to be planted. Mowers have hit the hay fields hard, trying to take advantage of the weather in order to get the first cutting done as what was cut prior to the monsoon season is ready for the second cutting.

Northwest Iowa

Bruce Anderson reports some areas in Northwest Iowa received eight to nine inches last Friday and Saturday. Rivers and creeks are out of their banks; there will no doubt be some flooded fields that will not dry out in time to replant. Some corn was laid over due to the high winds and some pea-size hail was reported. Fortunately, Bruce reports that all Latham products are performing excellent!

East Central Iowa

Brad Beatty reports the sun has been shining (at last!) and farmers have been cutting hay like crazy. Corn will tassel within 10 days because it only has two to three more shoots to go. He’s keeping his eye on some Common Rust and Gray Leaf Spot and said it’s a good year to use fungicides. So far there haven’t been any pests in the beans but it is important to get them sprayed while the weather is dry.

South Dakota

Bill Eichacker says the old saying “knee high by the Fourth of July” is being used to reference flood waters instead of crops in his area. They’re hoping water levels decrease to knee-high by the holiday. Last week’s weather was not a pleasant with high winds, hail, heavy rains and flooding. The next 10-day weather pattern looks like it will cooperate with farmers’ intentions of spraying and cutting grasses and alfalfa. A few farmers still intend to replant low grounds that were damaged by heavy rains. If you do need to replant, talk to your area RSM about Latham Hi-Tech Seeds’ replant policy. There is also a trait fund from your Round Up Rewards for 10 or more acres that may have flooded or somehow destroyed by Mother Nature. All claims must be submitted by Aug. 31.

Minnesota

Jason Obermeyer reports they had another set of storms last Friday evening into Saturday. He has seen some hail damage in his territory, but he is really seeing too much water stress and related fungal affects. Corn is having a hard time in some compacted soils due to excessive driving with grain carts last fall. Lots of power lines are down and trees have snapped off.

Eastern Nebraska

Mike Lorenz’s region is finally seeing the sun shine! They had about three or four dry days last week, so he was busy positioning varieties in the areas that needed replanting. However, it rained again last Sunday and that put a stop to the possibility of any replanting. By the time it dries out, it will be too late to replant soybeans. Now the urgency to spray and fertilize is top priority before the crops get too big. The bottom grounds are a loss but the hill tops and otherwise dry areas are still looking great. Some fungal diseases have surfaced due to the wet weeks followed by the hot and humid days. Fusarium and Pythium has been spotted in the bottom grounds, proving that it’s worth the money to buy treated seed. Farmers have also been able to finally cut hay.

Central Nebraska

Steve Edwards reports corn planted at the right time and the hybrid that was matched up with the soil type is almost tasseled which is only 1-2%. He said the rest of the crop is all over the place because of the excessive moisture and rolling hills. A small percentage of the crop is ahead of last year.

Northern Missouri

Rick Foster reports nothing has changed, except that it just keeps getting wetter. His area received another 7 to 8 inches of rain last week.

Also, below are the new Latham field signs you’ll see this year. This particular field was planted with LibertyLink corn and will mark one of our stops on the Latham Freedom of Independence Ride!