I have been sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to get into the field to harvest my silage research plots. In late August, I noticed so many fields being harvested for silage, but then the rain started. Now, driving across the state, there are half-harvested fields and fields that were set for silage still standing.

The Iowa State University (ISU) Crops Team has announced its 2026–2027 winter programming schedule and opened sponsorship opportunities for industry partners to support agronomic, conservation, and farm profitability education reaching thousands of stakeholders across Iowa and in other states. Sponsorships support programs that deliver research-based information to the agricultural community.

Significant engagement and proven impact from the 2025–2026 season include: 

While corn silage and early grain harvest had begun in parts of Iowa, recent and persistent rainfall has brought fieldwork to a standstill across much of the state. In this regional crop update, ISU Extension field agronomists provide harvest progress reports and discuss emerging concerns, including corn standability, ear rots, and grain quality.

A lot of people may be thinking about a late cutting this year, not because they planned one but because they never got their last traditional cutting off. The rain came, the fields stayed soft, and the window closed. Now there is standing forage that was supposed to be in storage weeks ago, and the question becomes whether to go after it late or write it off.

Palmer amaranth was first identified in Iowa in Harrison County in 2013, shortly afterwards isolated infestations were found in Fremont and Page Counties. In subsequent years I visited these sites and made casual assessments as to whether the population was increasing or decreasing and looked for evidence it was spreading outside of the initial areas. My last tour was in 2021, and I thought I had moved on to other things.