After experiencing unseasonably cool temperatures in May and June, many farmers across the Upper Midwest were hoping for warmer days ahead. Now the heat is in full force! It’s been so hot that it may cause pollination problems.
“The timing of this heat wave couldn’t be worse,” said meteorologist Harvey Freese in The Des Moines Register. “The old saying about hot weather being good for corn isn’t true during pollination.”
The ideal temperature for corn reproduction is 86 degrees, according to a recent article. Unfortunately, tassels and kernels will get temperatures averaging 95 degrees or more this week. Stay tuned to TheFieldPosition to see how weather is affecting this year’s crop.
To view the most recent crop updates from your region, select your territory in the below map.
A Wallaces Farmer article posted today highlighted that corn and soybeans throughout Iowa have progressed rapidly toward maturity this past week. The weekly weather and crop conditions survey released August 30 by the Iowa office USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service shows 8% of Iowa’s corn crop has already reached maturity. Seventy-seven percent of the crop has started to dent, and 94% has entered or reached dough stage. Corn condition has improved slightly with 69% of the state’s crop now rating “good to excellent.” Click here for the full report. Soybeans as of August 30 have begun to drop their leaves in some fields, the article stated. Pods have now been set on virtually all of the state’s soybean acres, and 14% of Iowa’s soybean acres have turned color–which is ahead of last year’s 4% and the 5-year average of 13% at the end of August. Click here for the full article.
Iowa Corn and Soybeans Quickly Maturing
When I sit down to write articles for our blog, I feel like I'm sitting down with my family at the dinner table, ready to talk about 