Alfalfa hay harvest this fall was significantly delayed, and in many cases canceled, due to the unusually high number of rainy days throughout September. Excessive rainfall prevented many producers from taking a final cutting before winter. As temperatures cool and alfalfa begins to go dormant, some may be considering grazing those fields.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will host the 37th Annual Integrated Crop Management Conference, set for Dec. 9–10, at Prairie Meadows in Altoona. 

As harvest is starting to wrap up in Iowa and the cooling temperatures are making their appearance right in time for fall activities, it’s time to think of our next field operation, anhydrous ammonia. Anhydrous ammonia is an effective nitrogen fertilizer for Iowa corn production, but successful application takes more than an open field and available equipment.

If you feel behind this fall, you are not alone. Just under half of Iowa's corn is harvested, 4-inch soils are still in the upper 50s, and a very strong El Niño is likely to keep them warm well into November.

For fall anhydrous ammonia, the message is simple: it's not time yet. The recommendations haven't changed. What has changed is when the window is likely to open, and how much patience it will take to wait for it.

Harvest is often a race against time. Delayed harvest can increase grain losses, reduce grain quality, and create additional weather risk. Wheeling on wet soils during harvest and grain handling may be unavoidable this fall. Iowa has received higher precipitation over the months of July, August and September than average. When soil is wet, the soil bearing capacity is weak, with top and subsoil layers vulnerable to soil compaction.