From the Field Crop Reports: July 18

EASTERN IOWA

Jerry Broders

Latham® Hi‑Tech Seeds field signs are popping up across Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. The crops are ahead of schedule due to maximum heat units per day. It’s time to be making decisions on fungicide treatment on your corn and soybeans.

CENTRAL IOWA

Bryan Rohe

Latham 6175 VT2 PRO RIB, shown here, is a very healthy hybrid that works well on many soil types without much management.

NORTHEAST IOWA & SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA

Craig Haaland

Keep scouting your fields for pests and disease. We got 2.5 inches of rain late last week. Overall, crops look pretty good. Soybean fields are starting to close up in some areas while other areas have a ways to go. Corn fields are all pretty much all tasseled. Fungicide is being applied, so we’re seeing lots of planes and helicopters flying.

WEST NORTH CENTRAL IOWA

Bart Peterson

This beautiful field of L 2684 L near Arthur, Iowa, is weed free.

NORTH CENTRAL IOWA & SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA

Cory Greiman

This field of Latham® LH 4454 VT2 PRO RIB was planted May 16 and is tasseling near Emmetsburg, Iowa.

NORTHWEST IOWA

Darin Chapman

Latham’s LH 5245 VT2 PRO RIB and LH 5215 VT2 PRO RIB really pair well together. With all the weather events we’ve had in Northwest Iowa, these two hybrids look great! I look forward to the yield analysis.

WESTERN IOWA & EASTERN NEBRASKA

Larry Krapfl

As you can see, LH 6425 VT2 PRO RIB looks beautiful. This ear is 18 kernels around and 40 long.

SOUTHERN WISCONSIN

Greg Mair

Scouting fields during the growing season is beneficial to determine if there are any yield-limiting factors that can cause even thinner margins.

Risk management needs to be in the forefront of every decision on the farm when margins are this thin. This field of glyphosate-resistant corn in Green County is infested with armyworms. This field was sprayed pre-emerge with an insecticide and then sprayed again with a pesticide last Friday. Armyworm presence still exists and will need to be addressed again.

Planning ahead to 2019, this farmer will likely be plant fully traited genetics to limit exposer to insect pressure.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Joey Salter

The soybean plot of Latham® dealer Bruce Sellent’s in Almena, Wisc., looks great! Here are a few things that I noted while walking this plot:

L 0838 R2 is the check.
L 1184 R2 X looks really good. It’s a tall, bushy plant that filled in the 30-inch rows with ease.
E 1159 R2 is also a tall, bushy plant with a distinct darker green appearance.

We received some much needed rain last week and more is in the forecast for this week.

NORTHERN MINNESOTA

Ken Highness

Gary Geske conducts a root dig for Latham® Dealer Steve Gades and one of his customers from Morris, Minn. It’s important to evaluate corn root worm pressure in fields and start making plans for 2019 seed needs.

SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA

Ramie Coughlin

Most South Dakota crops are looking great! We have had good heat units with some nice cool days and nights, along with good moisture. The rains have taken a bit of a break, so growers have had a chance to spray soybean fields. Many producers are finishing up second cuttings of hay, and the spring wheat is ripening.

NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA

James Keltgen

Lighter soils are starting to show stress in the Watertown area where pollination is in full swing. Rain is still badly needed in many areas. Corn in the Northern areas is further along and nearing the end of pollination. Soybeans are beginning to set some pods and continue to near canopy. No disease or insect pressure is showing up yet.

SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA

Gary Geske

Wild flowers, like those planted in this two-acre prairie plot that has been restored to long grass, help pollinators remain healthy. My wife, Sandy, and I planted and care for this Prairie Restoration Plot in cooperation with the United Prairie Foundation. Seed costs for this complete mixture of grasses and flowers costs about $2,000 per acre.

EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA

Brian McNamee

It looks like we’ll have a perfect weather pattern for tasseling and pollinating corn. Highs will be in the low 70s to mid-80s, and night-time temps will get down to around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. We have a terrific corn crop across the entire region. Yield predictions and assessments have already started.

Harvest is coming fast. Small grain harvest likely will begin next week.