September 5, 2012

Although we have not started harvesting, corn has been harvested in this west central Iowa area. Moistures we have heard range from 14 to about 20%. Some corn was blown over a week or two ago. Most corn is very close to ready to combine, and people are waiting for it to dry down a few more points. Also, a week or 10 days ago, sudden death syndrome started showing up in our beans. Other beans in the area are turning yellow fast and leaves are off, especially in hard pan areas or other areas of extremely dry soils. We continue to miss out on rains here; however, we did get 2.5 inches two weeks ago and that disappeared like wed gotten nothing. Check all your equipment, get your sleep, stay alert to problemsespecially field firesand stay safe this harvest season.

Bill & Karen Johnson, Shelby County

Things are drying out. A lot of guys are running. Corn yields are all over the board. I am cautiously optimistic about my soybeans; there are lots of pods out there, but did the recent rains do enough to fill those pods?

Jeff Jorgenson, Fremont County

We have very guarded optimism about next year because we don't feel the drought is over in our area. We won't be applying fall anhydrous unless something miraculous happens. Suppliers won't guarantee a price on anhydrous until spring, but we'll go ahead and apply our P & K this fall.

Cliff Mulder, Marion County

Our yields will be up and down. In comparison to other parts of the state, the drought doesn't appear to be as severe. I'm expecting a 10-20 percent decrease in yields in comparison to normal. The lighter soils are showing the most severe impact.

Brian Kemp, Osceola County

We're on the edge where we may see better crops than expected, yet still not the yields we'd like to see. There will be a wide range in yields across the same field.

Jim Stillman, Palo Alto County

September 4, 2012

Harvest has started in some fields. Moisture has been reported in the 20 percent area with yields highly variable, averaging around 130 to 140 bushels per acre. We haven't started harvest, probably next week. Beans are starting to turn, taking advantage of the recent rain. Pods are looking better, might have a decent crop.

Delbert Westphalen, Cass County

One farmer started some corn here Friday, 19.2%, 120 bu./ac and 56 lb tw. The same farmer took out some soybeans today at 13.5% but his yield monitor was not recalibrated yet for yield.

Barry Christensen, Howard County

My beans are just starting to show some yellow so it will be maybe 3 weeks here, but they are podded very well and we do expect some 50 bu yields. My corn is still a curious lot with dry and green throughout most fields. Elevator talk is in the low 20s for moisture and yields all over the board, starting in the low 100s for averages. Some farmers are figuring they are already triggered in crop insurance so why not wait for dryer product before harvest. I???m not sure if that is the norm, however. We have a bin project here so we are focusing on that, though probably won't use it this year, go figure...plus, I have ISA meetings all week.

Mark Jackson, Mahaska County

We have run about 200 acres. As expected, there???s a lot of variability based on soil type and variety. But overall, it???s been better than I thought. We have been going after the poorer quality down corn and we are getting closer to a rolling average of 100 bushel as we get into better corn. (The first 28-acre field of early season corn for stalk pasture went 103 at 16.5 %.) Early beans look like they are turning pretty quick.

Don Swanson, Wapello County

No harvesting is being done in this area except silage.

Ed Ulch, Linn County

August 15, 2012

Looked at a lot of corn fields today. There are few good fields, but most fields have really taken a hit the last two weeks. Have some 99-day corn planted early that has matured way too fast. We will start combining end of next week, or first part of the following week. Hoping for 130, but that may be optimistic. Hand sampled today at 23 to 27.

As for the beans, they are improving, but not sure we have enough time left for them to recover. Similar to the corn, there are a few fields that still have tremendous potential.

Kyle Maas, Duncombe, Webster County

We have not had to spray for spider mites yet. Overall, the beans are coming alive after a prolonged mummy-like state during the month of July. Most are putting on a top 6-inch growth and setting a few more pods. Tall beans don't have pods 12 inches from the ground, short beans are podded at a normal 4 inches and up. Stripped one field with Priaxor Fungicide and a cocktail of lorsban and Bifenthrin for a good check, so far not a lot of disease pressure in the beans. No SDS so far. Three bean pod counts from 20 to 30 per plant.

Tim Couser, Nevada, Story County

August 14, 2012

There has been lots of spraying for spider mites in the area. We have have found very few and have not sprayed for aphids or spider mites. It has been very dry. Six inches of rain in July and 1.4 inches so far in August. Our crops look good and the corn is getting mature and showing it. Crops on sandy soils are burned up and gone. The combine will tell the story on yields.

Roy Arends, Alexander, Franklin County

Showers the last 10 days has given me some optimism for the bean crop. A couple yield checks in corn 110 to 140 are not good, but better than I would???ve bet on 3 weeks ago. One farm in the area chopped 240 acres because of rootworm and poor pollination. It was high dollar corn and has several people looking at what happened.

Roger Van Ersvelde, Brooklyn, Poweshiek County

We have been out in the fields doing a lot of looking. Very variable to our surprise we have found some early planted corn with 200 bpa counts and then fields with 130 bpa. We feel very lucky we even have a crop to harvest with what we have been through this year. The beans look good but hard to tell. Some guys in our area just gave up and didn't spray beans for mites. I'm glad we did with the recent rains.

Brock Hansen, Baxter, Jasper County

We finally received some significant rainfall. We have had half-dozen little rains to make up a 1.5 inches of rain in the last week or so. Should help the beans and is making the yard green up a little. Corn looks like it will make from 60 to 90 bushel per acre. Beans we have to get 30 before we hope to get 35, but it looks promising. The mood in the country is not very good as a lot of people bought new machinery last year for tax reasons and intended to make the payments with this year's crop. We are painting the buildings and that helps change the mood around the farm, as it looks good from the road and that???s about it. Harvest should start in 3 weeks for corn, but not sure for beans. Need more water to have decent crop.

Max Smith, Pleasantville, Marion County

August 9, 2012

We received around 2 inches of rain on August 4, along with high winds--lots of corn laid over. I was thinking I would be able to combine corn at record pace. Now I'll have to slow down to get through the tangled mess.

I have been in corn fields that look like it will do 75/BPA and corn that looks like 180/BPA and they are in the same field. Beans are still a guessing game.

Lance Schiele, Cedar County

July 27, 2012

"I drove through one of those 1.2 inch rains yesterday. It was less than a mile wide. Walking fields is somewhat depressing. The fired spots are getting bigger. I get to a "green" area only to find an occasional good ear. Many green stalks have no ears at all. Japanese beetles are taking care of the silks, but ears have already pollinated. So this is a bright spot, as it keeps the beetles off the beans. The beans still look good. They're setting pods (only 3 to 4 per plant)."

Jim Fitkin, Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County

July 24, 2012

"Today, we attended/participated in a meeting in Seymour to discuss the drought with 140 farmers.

Mark Carlton, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, discussed crop concerns which include spider mites in soybeans, and Alflatoxin, nitrates and other concerns with corn.

Byron Leu discussed quality of silage, and explained to wait and chop when the moisture is down to 60 percent and to have it tested before feeding to cattle because of concerns of nitrates. He said to keep a ziploc bag of silage cold (even froze) before sending it to lab for testing and send on a Monday or Tuesday.

Ray Jenkins, corn buyer from Cargill corn milling, talked about markets and testing for Alflatoxin. They will reject at 10 parts per million. He also asked that if farmers need copies of past year's settlement documentation, to give them a few days to respond.

Brad Veenstra, a crop insurance adjuster supervisor with Great American, talked about claims and that there will be 3-year audits for claims more than $200,000 per crop per county.

Don Swanson, crop insurance agent, asked that farmers remember to call their agent before chopping silage, and to measure bins that contain 2011 crop. He also discussed the issue paying a claim for corn with Alflatoxin. If a farmer suspects Alflatoxin, they need to pay to have the crop tested prior to storing it.

Driving between Ottumwa and Seymour, we saw a lot of cornfields that have fired and look very poor. With this 100+ temperatures, it is changing for the worse very quickly. Soybeans look green from the road, but crop scouting tells us that there are little pods. However, with some rain still could produce something."

Pat Swanson, Ottumwa, Wapello County

July 20, 2012

We had .8" of rain last weekend, which helped a bunch, but a lot of damage has already been done. Most of the corn got pollinated this past week, with the help of an airplane spraying insecticide to kill beetles. Our lighter soils are toast, but there is yield potential on a lot of it yet. The soybeans continue to look good, but as the drought conditions persist, pods will be aborted. Corn and soybeans in our area are reaching the point of no return, without a soaking rain in the next 7-10 days, much of the yield potential will evaporate.

Jason Russell, Prairieburg, Linn County

"The Solon area is very dry. Some corn did not even shoot an ear, and it most likely will not. Soybeans are short, but they look better than the corn. We are spraying corn for a severe infestation of Japanese beetles today. I'm not sure if we are spraying for us, or for the insurance company."

Ed Ulch, Solon, Johnson County

"Our soybeans are really showing signs of stress. The weak spots are toast. The forecast for our area for next week does not look good at all. We are projected to see highs in the upper 90 degrees. Many farmers are starting to lose optimism. In fact, a lot of farmers are comparing this year to 1956, and many farmers went broke in '56. This was before crop insurance was available, however."

A forecast of 98 degree days with a south wind of 5 mph does make for a good environment for 40 pound birds. Sara Lee (Hillshire Brand) is talking about a 20 percent reduction in birds next summer. Keep in mind that is the amount they lost this summer due to the heat. I think it will depend mostly on the price of breast meat.

I do not think that northwest Iowa will run out of corn next summer (2013). It will not be easy - especially for ethanol.

This spring started so wonderfully. We had one of the best stands of corn we had ever seen, very uniform. We switched one planter to beans April 20th, and just kept on going. The beans popped out of the ground with such vigor. We had some nice rain in May and early June. Things were really looking great. Staying ahead of the weeds was not easy, but I got it done. Also, we put up two hog barns this spring and did the dirk work and gravel hauling ourselves. My wife pointed out to me that I have only taken four days off since early March. Now I feel like I am in the cage with Mother Nature. After looking at the extended forecast, I think I should finally tap out. Hello crop insurance.

Dan Roeder, Ida Grove, Ida County

"My wife, Nancy, and I left Emporia, Kan., on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The temperature was 107 degrees, and it stayed there the entire 50 miles to Topeka. The crops between St. Joseph, Mo., and Atchison, Kan., looked like they had some moisture in the last few days. The crops still look green, and hopeful after it cools down in late evening. I think the corn is just drying up, and isn't going to fire. It did pollinate."

Paul Ackley, Bedford, Taylor County

“We received .9 in. of rain yesterday afternoon at our Fredericksburg farm. There are areas of the fields that are done for the year.  If we get some rain, some parts of the fields might produce something.”

Sue Benning, Chickasaw and Franklin Cos.

"Corn has pollinated well. It is filling with some firing on bottom. Soybeans are doing okay . . . some flowering. There are large cracks in the soil, and thin soils are showing signs of stress. We need rain, but we're better than most of the state."

Delbert Westphalen, Atlantic, Cass County

Monday I had some storm damaged electric poles replaced going to the well on the bottom south of our house. At 4-5 inches we found some moisture, and at 4 foot the dirt was actually sticky. The field is in beans. If it was corn it would probably be a different story.

Some bean fields are good looking and some are getting ugly with late emerging water hemp. I'd say the jury is still out on the beans.

One week ago kernel count length-wise was 38-40. Today in the same area it was 30-32. That is about a 20 percent loss in kernel count that the plants have given us by tipping back the ear. Yesterday's 100 degree temperature had the soybeans rolling their leaves over trying to protect themselves. The poorer ground is really showing the stress.

Roger Van Ersvelde, Brooklyn, Poweshiek County

"Looked at one of my better corn fields today. There was a good ear here and there. A lot of stalks had no ears. And quite a few were partially pollinated. Japanese beetles were clipping the silks, but they had already pollinated. I would guess the yield has been cut by 1/2 even if we start to get an inch of precipitation a week. But there is still hope for the soybeans...if it starts to rain."

Jim Fitkin, Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County

"As I count the pollinated kernels and ears in my corn field, I keep thinking this crop has very good potential. As I look at the forecast, and the growing dead areas in my fields, I know that potential is only going down. In some cases, it is dropping quickly. The question is, how far down will it go? The soybeans still have the potential of producing a decent crop. However, they need some rain soon for that potential to be met."

David Ausberger, Jefferson, Greene County

"Crops in my area are hanging on in the good soils, but you can see stress on the hot days and its starting to burn in spots. Pollination went surprising well. The concern is, can we hang on to the kernels with the high temps and lack of rain? The Japanese Beetles are a problem . . . they are clipping silks and chewing on soybeans. I sprayed about half the corn, but I'm not very happy with the control I got afterwards. It is hard to get the chemical down to the ear from a plane. The soybeans look okay. They are flowering, and some fields are being treated for spider mites. It is amazing how fast a field can go from good to bad with this pest. This year I feel like I'm in a poker game, and in order to stay in the game, I have to anti-up another spray of insecticide in order to see the crop at the end of the game.

The big concern, besides the size of the crop, is the quality. I think that aflatoxin will possibly be an issue at harvest and that needs to be on our radar screen now. Producers need to know how to handle it correctly so they can claim it on crop insurance.

This drought will present big challenges to the livestock farms. The feed costs have jumped 25 percent since June 1, which has taken a promising year and may make it into a 1998 type disaster for the swine industry."

Tom Wall, Iowa City, Johnson County

"We live in Marion County on county road G40. Our crops here "look" good from the road, depending if you drive by in the morning or later in the afternoon. Our Lucas County farms seem a little better yet. But only time will tell. At this point, with some rain, we could be looking at maybe 110 bushel corn and 35 bushel beans, with insects close by. But I heard they are fearful this drought could go into October. "

As we care for our livestock, it makes us wonder how many people really understand where we will get the corn and soybeans to feed our livestock.

Kenny and Leanne Sutter, Pleasantville, Marion County

"We've only had 0.6 rain in SE Osceola County since June 1. Corn varies from just beginning to roll on the best soils to 3' tall and brown on the bad ground. Beans are starting to go backwards this week."

Dave Rossman, Hartley, O???Brien/Sioux County

"A tenth or two of rain yesterday at home will not be enough to finish this crop. We look pretty good locally, but the sandy spots keep getting bigger and I know there are regions that are impacted more than others. Another week of no rain and high temps and things will be getting pretty ugly everywhere."

Brent Renner, Klemme, Hancock County

“The sandy ground is burned up. The corn and beans that are on good ground look very good. It is very dry and I think the heat forecast for next week will take a toll. The pollination on corn looks excellent; ears are filled nearly to the tip. We do need rain........”

Roy Arends, Alexander, Franklin County

"I can smell the corn plants cooking" not good. Ours seems to have pollinated and still looks reasonably good considering we haven't had rain since June 15th when lightning struck our hay/machine shed and burnt it down with all of our hay. We bought some hay from a neighbor at $130/ton this week; but I think as this heat continues it makes more sense to put wheels under the cows and calves. Beans have been sprayed by helicopter and there have been planes in our area for several days now."

Bill & Karen Johnson, Avoca, Shelby County

"The crops have held on longer than I thought they would two weeks ago. The corn is starting to fire from the bottom in just the last couple days. Pollination went fine but it is going to continue to tip back. I am more disappointed in the soybeans. Spider mites are moving in. We will probably have to spray next week. Weed control has been pretty good. We have started supplementing our cows with some feed because pastures are about gone. We are also hauling water or hooking onto wells for water for them. All the creeks are dry. The coming weeks will be hard to watch as the crop goes backwards. We looked so good early but have not got any of the scattered rains over the last couple weeks."

Jon McClure, Dallas Center, Dallas County

"At a time when we will need to grow all the seed corn we can for next year, we have spent the past two days destroying seed corn acres. Friday morning we were fortunate enough to have picked up 1.8 inches of rain, but with it came some wind. It hit the corn at a bad time and the female went flat. Between the extreme heat and tangled up corn, the seed company chose to abandon significant parts of the field. They brought in extra help, raised their pay, had water at both ends of the field...it wasn't going to happen. And it's a pretty sick feeling mowing off what had looked like such a nice crop."

"The rain area was fairly small and obviously that looks good for the time being. Pollination is okay, not perfect. But there are a couple of tough weeks coming if we go without rain, watching everything slip away. Weed control in the beans is suspect, some real good, some not so. Some have chosen to go with fungicide on the corn. Outside the rain area many have chosen not to. Corn rootworm beetles are thick everywhere. Spider mites may be next."

"Extremely variable here depending on the last rainfall and the soil. The heat seems as harmful as the lack of precipitation."

Bruce Hayes, Dike, Grundy County

"We still had 100 bushel corn last week but kernals are just withering away and the soybeans are really hurting. I don't think they can put anything in the pod."

"The heat just keeps coming."

Roger Wuthrich, Bloomfield, Davis County

"It is very hot and dry. We haven't had any rain since June 16th. The corn on corn is fired up to the ear. Corn on beans looks better. I think if we could get a rain in the next 4 or 5 days our yields could be from 130 down to 50 or 60 bushel per acre. The beans still look fairly good but we will need rain soon."

Lindsay Greiner, Keota, Washington County