Planting in Northwest Iowa has shown significant progression this past week. Corn planting is 70% complete while soybean planting is 5% complete. Several farmers are headed back to the fields today, but after rain events this past weekend I would urge everyone to approach with caution. Soil temperatures continue to hover around the 48 to 50 degree range with soil conditions considered “tacky”. If you do decide to head to the fields and plant in these tacky conditions, be very vigilant in scouting as those new plants emerge in the coming weeks. Watch for any crusting in soybean fields that could inhibit emergence, you might have to consider breaking the crust with a rotary hoe if needed. Also look for possibilities of sidewall compaction and take stand counts to determine if any stand loss has occurred. On the insect front, monitor your fields for cutworm populations. Cutworms typically invade at 123 heat units. Early warm air in March and a warm winter season resulted in a high moth hatch and the potential for high cutworm pressures.
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