Tag Archives: Latham Hi-Tech Seeds

North Central Iowa Crop Report: May 9, 2012

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Rain…lots and lots of rain. That’s the story for North Iowa this last week. Temps did improve, but continued rains have made fields impassable. This week looks to dry off and I expect a huge push to finish out corn (50% now done), and make a strong start on beans.

Crops planted early seem to be progressing nicely despite the colder, wet weather and should be in good shape as temps continue to rise. Many fertilizer and chemical programs will change due to the 10 days of wet weather as corn will have emerged before sprayers and spreaders could get through muddy conditions.

Row, Row, Row Your Corn

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by Corey Catt, Forage Products Manager

Isn’t it exciting when you can finally “row your corn”? It’s such a milestone. It provides us with a sense of accomplishment. It brings some relief as hopefully no replant will be needed. And it makes us eager to see how the crop progresses throughout the growing season.
The average corn plant needs approximately 100 heat units to emerge from the ground. Depending on weather conditions, a seed/seedling will reach 100 heat units in 7 to 10 days. Some hybrids emerge faster than others, while others are slower to emerge but may grow more rapidly. These hybrid differences really depend on genetics.

Raising a corn hybrids somewhat reminds me of horses racing like the Kentucky Derby. Remember last Saturday how Bodemeister led the field around the first turn? I’ll Have Another was in seventh place early but went on to win the race. The same can be said for corn plants. Some emerge from the ground like a rocket, while others make up for lost time as the heat rises.

How quickly do you see hybrids emerging? One of my favorite parts of the job is hearing “from the field” about what you learned during emergence time as you walk and row your fields. I always enjoy hearing things from a farmer’s perspective and hope you’ll share this type of information with me as it adds to our pool of information about Latham® hybrids.

This season Latham Hi-Tech Seeds will be sharing more stories “From the Field.” We’re following crop development from planting through harvest in several locations across Latham Country. You’ll find our Growing Season Gallery on our Facebook page at www.facebook/LathamSeeds. We also invite you to join us by sharing your own photos “From the Field.” Simply e-mail your photos of Latham® brand corn, soybeans or alfalfa to lathamseeds.fromthefieldtour@gmail.com.