Northwest Iowa Crop Conditions

After a very wet end to August, September started out quite warm with scattered storms. The warm weather last
week accelerated crop development which will shorten the grain fill period slightly. This effect can reduce yields, however I expect it happened too late to make much difference for us this season. Crops are progressing toward maturity for the most part on schedule.

Most corn is beginning to turn yellowish brown especially the lower leaves. Most of the change in color is natural maturing, but in some cases corn is changing sooner than it should because of some underlying problem like leaf or stock disease, nitrogen deficiency, excess heat, wind/hail damage, insect feeding, saturated soils, or undetermined premature death. The excess rain was a factor in most of these problems. It’s difficult to say how much impact these late season stresses will have on corn yield. I think the negative impact will be small, and yields will still be above average to very good.

Some soybeans are also turning fall colors. The wind and rain caused some beans to lodge. This shouldn’t
directly damage the beans, but will have negative impacts on harvestability. The early soybeans may be harvested
in about two weeks. Soybean yields should be above average.