Aaron Saeugling
We have now reached the critical period for maximizing yield for both corn and soybeans. I will focus on soybeans for this blog and how soil moisture affects moisture stress in beans and soybean yield. With recent rains across a sizable portion of Iowa in mid-July, soil moisture profiles changed...
The 2021 cropping year will be remembered for a long time as an unusual year in many respects. Corn and soybean growth are off like a turtle race in many locations this season. So, we may be driving around, doing some road scouting, and asking ourselves why this is taking so long. After all, the...
With a long winter coming to an end, our focus now turns to planter setup. While we often focus on new equipment and updates to our planters, knowledge of the basic function of the planter and the role each part of the planter plays in seeding depth and spacing, as well as upkeep of these parts...
While much of the damage from this month’s derecho is due to strong hurricane-force winds, isolated pockets of hail affected crops also, particularly in parts of Carroll, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Boone, and Story counties. When addressing any crop damage, contact your crop insurance provider...
Over the last two weeks I have received a few calls related to identifying a “new form of waterhemp” in Southwest Iowa. In reality, we do not have a new form of waterhemp, but a condition referred to as ‘fasciation’ (Figure 1). While this can occur in many plant species, plants like cacti and...