Category Archives: IA- North Central: Latham Headquarters

North Central Iowa Crop Report: June 27, 2012

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Shannon Latham, Vice President

It was another great week in North Central Iowa. A nice, 2-inch rain combined with high temperatures made corn and beans shoot up. Corn and beans still show a wide variety of variance across the area due to planting dates and moisture levels, but I would call the current conditions very good.

Latham’s LH 5378 VT3 PRO is looking outstanding in the fields that I’ve walked. I really like this hybrid for its yield potential. Latham® Hi-Tech Soybeans L2084R2 is also looking excellent throughout the territory, and I’m expecting another strong showing for this highly defensive bean.

One thing we are seeing more of this year is yellowing from Iron Chlorosis across the area. This is something we need to keep an eye on in our region as well as Soybean Cyst Nematode. Making sure you have those defensive traits in your soybean portfolio is a critical part to high yields and profitable acres. Ask your Latham sales rep or dealer to help you manage these yield-robbing thieves going forward.

From the Field Update from Latham Headquarters: June 25, 2012

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Shannon Latham, Vice President

The showcase plot at Latham Hi-Tech Seeds was scouted Monday, June 11. The corn was at V5 leaf stage and is growing very rapidly. Dry conditions have been a problem much of the spring, but rain finally came on the night of Friday, June 15, with 9/10ths of an inch. Very low weed pressure exists, so this field has not been sprayed. The field was side-dressed with nitrogen in early June. More rain in the forecast for the next few days is very much needed.

North Central Iowa Crop Report: June 20, 2012

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Shannon Latham, Vice President

Rain continues to be a concern in North Iowa as spotty showers left area farmers between 0.2 of an inch and 2 inches in some remote locations last week. Continued high temperatures and moisture shortages are starting to show up in sandier, dryer ground but so far crops have held up admirably. Corn and soybeans both look good throughout the region with major variances in plant size due to the wide variety of planting dates. We’re expecting some higher temps this week with a few outside chances of rain. In many areas this high heat will become a major issue for plants as ground moisture is getting hard to find in some fields.

Weeds continue to become more and more of a problem in the North Iowa market, partly due to Roundup Resistance and partly due to pre-emerge chemicals that couldn’t activate due to lack of moisture. One thing I’m focusing on with growers is doing a per-emerge on all your acres as well as utilizing non Roundup chemical programs in corn acres. 2011 showed that Roundup Resistance wasn’t just a southern problem and 2012 I’m seeing a lot more of the tell tale signs of Roundup Resistance in fields.

LH 5378 VT3 PRO has looked outstanding again this year. I’ve been high on this hybrid for some time and it’s showing up nicely again. L2440R2’s should have a great year for us in Northern Iowa as they are typically a bean that does well in dryer conditions. I’m very interested to see how bean yields stack up this fall. With soybean prices holding nicely, we have the potential for some of the most profitable bean acres in a long time and Latham’s new RR2 line up has already shown the ability to throw off some excellent yields the past two years. There should be some very happy growers out there come October.

Have a safe and profitable week.