Iowa's premier weekly crop reports 6/19/19

Drier weather last week allowed some farmers to finish planting corn and start on soybeans, but there were some prevented planting acres too, Rosburg said June 13. “A few guys switched to earlier corn hybrids,” he said. They were also replanting corn in areas that drowned out and using rotary hoes to break up crusting. “There’s a lot of corn fields that have reduced stands.”

Drier weather last week allowed some farmers to finish planting corn and start on soybeans, but there were some prevented planting acres too, Rosburg said June 13. “A few guys switched to earlier corn hybrids,” he said. They were also replanting corn in areas that drowned out and using rotary hoes to break up crusting. “There’s a lot of corn fields that have reduced stands.”

“Most everyone is finished planting around here, although some people are still spotting in corn and beans,” Lichty said June 13. The corn stands, overall, look good to excellent, he said. Most farmers are catching up on spraying. “Some waterhemp is already starting to show up. That has everybody nervous,” Lichty said. With a break from the rain, farmers put up a lot of hay.

“There’s been a little bean replanting due to crusting issues,” Bennett said June 13. “Things that have come up are looking pretty good now. We have a lot of V4 to V6 corn that has a nice green color. It just needed some heat.” He plans to start spraying post-emergence corn this week. Farmers in the area had good weather to put up alfalfa before rain totaling about 0.4 inch last week.

“Around our area, we’ve made huge progress in the last week and a half,” Crow said June 13. “I’d say everyone is near completed on planting corn and soybeans.” Now his focus shifts to cutting hay and preparing the sprayer. He also managed to get the last of his sweet corn planted last week, a crop Crow was worried about just a couple weeks ago. “Things dried up better than I thought,” he said.

“There is just a flurry of activity around here now that the weather is better,” Strasser said June 13. “Farmers are planting, side-dressing corn, spraying and putting up hay. We’re trying to get everything done in a compacted window.” Early planted fields look good, but the later planted fields are struggling and still need sun and warmth to get going, he said.

“For the most part, people finished up planting last week to the beginning of this week,” Baudler said June 13. “That nice break from the rain really helped.” Most farmers had to do some replanting. “We had some seed that rotted in the field,” she said. Crop growth is “all over the board” due to spread out planting dates. First-cutting hay has started, and pastures are lush after the wet spring.

What a difference a week makes. Seven days of dry weather allowed Siefkas and his neighbors to not only finish planting and replants, but also move ahead on spraying emerged fields. “I hate to say it, but we could almost use a quarter to half an inch of rain right now,” he said June 13. Because of the dry spell, Siefkas said some guys even reversed prevent plant plans, putting in a crop instead.

“There has been a lot of progress around here in the past two weeks with the weather getting better,” Yaley said June 13. Most corn has been planted, and farmers are finishing up soybeans, he said. There is also a big push to catch up on spraying before the weeds get out of control, Yaley said. The drier weather has provided a good window for putting up hay, he said.