Crop development progress is looking good in northwest Iowa. We are seeing corn that is in the 1/2 milk line stage as well as a few fields that have reached black layer maturity. The following shows what that means in terms of grain moisture and dry matter accumulation.
stage kernel dry matter days until
moisture, % accumulation, % next stage.
R5 - early dent 60 45 3
R5.25 - ¼ milk 52 65 6
R5.5 - ½ milk 40 90 10
R5.75 - ¾ milk 37 97 7- 14
R6 - mature 35 100 -
This info is from ISU publication PMR 1009.
Therefore, since much of the corn is approaching maturity, we are not to worried about early frost (none is predicted anyway). There are some cool temps predicted for tonight, but we are supposed to see a warming trend next week. The warming trend should help the corn to mature normally and help the grain begin the field drying process.
Field drying of the corn crop should progress fairly well, since the corn is reaching maturity in mid-September. We should be able to take advantage of the warm days we typically receive in late September and early October.