Regional Crop Update: May 4 - May 12, 2026

Over the last week, there was a lot of field activity across the state—planting, spraying, rotary hoeing, and fertilizer applications. Early planted corn and soybean fields have emerged, but there are concerns about soil crusting impacting emergence and stands. Insect activity is starting to increase, with reports of alfalfa weevil larvae and cutworms. Check out the regional updates below from your extension field agronomists to see what’s happening in your area and what to have on your radar for potential issues. 

Angie Rieck-Hinz (Region 3)

Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Webster, Worth, Wright counties 

“Planting is nearly complete across the counties I cover. There are still acres to be planted in Franklin, Hamilton, and Hardin counties, but everyone I have talked to this week says they will be done by this weekend. These wild swings in air temperatures (and subsequently soil temperatures) have delayed emergence, but we finally have VE to V1 corn. There are also some emerged soybeans. Pastures and hay are looking good, but the cool temperatures seem to have slowed growth as well. While April was wet in some places, it was warm. To date, May has been a different story, with it being dry and cold. See Tables 1 and 2 below. If you want to track precipitation and growing degree days for the locations included below, go to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet and adjust the dates as needed.  “Climo” is the “average” since 1951. Field issues include emergence problems with crusted soils. You should take the time to scout your fields to look at these issues. Was it the planter, was it too wet when you planted (sidewall compaction), was it a rainfall after planting leading to crusting on highly tilled soils? Is it a different factor (seedling disease or insect pressure) that is reducing your stand? You may not be able to fix the issue now, but this assessment may help with replant decisions and future changes in management.” 

Terry Basol (Region 4)

Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Chickasaw, Floyd, Grundy, Howard, Mitchell counties 

“Planting operations in north-central and northeast Iowa have progressed very well for both corn and soybeans this past week, due to favorable weather and soil conditions. For the most part, corn is pretty much planted with soybeans not too far behind it. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) as of May 11, 72 and 60 % of the acres have been planted to corn and soybeans respectively for the state of Iowa. The early planted corn acres are starting to emerge and are in the VE – V1 stage. We had another week of low temperatures in the northern half of my territory again. According to the Iowa Mesonet, the Northeast Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm (NERF) received temperatures of 32° F, 31.9° F, and 32.4°F on May 6, 7, and 11 respectively, slowing development and emergence of the corn and soybeans that have been planted. It’s important to begin scouting planted fields to do stand assessments for both corn and soybean, including stand counts and checking for any early emergence issues. Due to excessive soil moisture conditions in the first half of the planting calendar followed by little to no rainfall after planting, check early planted corn fields for potential crusting issues. Oats in the area continue to look good and are at Zadoks 14 or Feekes 1 here at NERF. Alfalfa also looks good, but cooler temps have slowed development, which will put the first cutting a little later than average for the area. As far as precipitation is concerned, we haven’t received any measurable rainfall here at NERF for the past week. 

Josh Michel (Region 5)

Allamakee, Buchanan, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Jones, Linn, Winneshiek counties

“Dry conditions last week allowed farmers to finally get back into the field. While planting conditions remain optimal, some field calls last week revealed that earlier-planted fields could have some sidewall compaction and soil crusting concerns. As a result, many fields may benefit from a rotary hoe. Conducting stand assessments will be critical over the next 7–10 days. An estimated 80% of the corn has been planted; while soybeans are currently sitting around 60%. Early planted fields are beginning to emerge and can just start to be rowed. Weed management will continue to be a concern as many winter annuals have been growing very well. An estimated 90% of the oats have been planted. The furthest along are about 5-6 inches tall and look great, while the last seedings are still being planted. Cereal rye is beginning to head out in some areas, and I came across a few fields last week that were getting harvested. Alfalfa is growing very well, and I would expect first cutting to occur within the next couple of weeks for many of the dairy operations. Alfalfa weevil larvae pressure continues to slowly build, but feeding has been fairly limited to just a few areas at this time. Pastures continue to look good, benefitting from previous rainfall and warming temperatures. The majority of field calls over the past week have centered around weed identification and management, soil temperatures and planting conditions, alfalfa weevils, and corn rootworm management.”

Meaghan Anderson (Region 7):

Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marshall, Polk, Story, Tama, Warren counties 

“Central Iowa had a busy week of planting and other fieldwork. Corn and soybean are beginning to emerge, with the largest soybeans at VC and the largest corn around V1. Check out this soybean staging reference and corn staging reference for more information. The biggest issue in emerging crops appears to be crusting and leafing out underground. This is more of an issue in areas that received heavy rainfall after planting, so primarily the northern part of the region I serve; replant decisions for corn and for soybean will be key in the coming days for some of these fields. Last week’s phone calls consisted of many weed identifications, questions regarding soil pH and amendments, and weed management questions. This week, farmers can scout fields that have emerged, finish planting and spraying fields, and hopefully will get a little rain to alleviate some of the dry conditions at the soil surface.”

Rebecca Vittetoe (Region 8)

Iowa, Jefferson, Keokuk, Poweshiek, Washington, Johnson counties 

"Other than a few spotty isolated pop-up showers, last week was relatively dry. We finally had a good window to get in the field. A lot of planting progress has been made in the last week. The first-planted corn and soybean fields have emerged. With those emerged fields, take some time to do stand assessments. I have been hearing about and observing some soil crusting and sidewall compaction issues in fields. Insect activity also appears to be increasing. I’ve received a couple of reports of cutworm activity—in pastures and a newly seeded oat/alfalfa stand. This activity does align with the predicted cutting dates in corn for this growing season. Additionally, I am seeing more alfalfa weevil larvae and aphids in alfalfa, along with a lot of beneficial insects or natural enemies. If you haven’t scouted your alfalfa for insects recently, I encourage you to do so. Keep an eye out for bean leaf beetles in emerged soybeans. While I haven't seen them yet in a soybean field, I have been able to find them in alfalfa. Most of the questions I received in the past week were related to weed identification, cover crop termination, and insect activity.” 

Virgil Schmitt (Region 9)

Cedar, Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Jackson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott counties

“Last week, the counties I cover have generally received 0.5 inch or less of rain. Corn planting is nearly complete, and I estimate that soybean planting is about 40% complete. Some of the earliest planted corn fields are VE to V2 and look good. Forages continue to look good. Alfalfa weevil levels remain low. Cereal rye is heading out. Calls last week centered around weed management.”

Aaron Saeugling (Region 10)

Adair, Adams, Cass, Clarke, Decatur, East Pottawattamie, Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Ringgold, Taylor, Union, West Pottawattamie counties 

“We have made up for a slow start to the year with much of the corn and soybean planted. Isolated showers have slowed a few farmers down around the Highway 2 corridor. Corn and soybean are emerging with some early corn slow growing due to dry and cooler temperatures. I expect later this week, with warmer temperatures, most fields will “pop”. Be watching corn planted May 4 due to the cool temperature on May 7 for emergence. In some areas ground conditions are hard; I have even seen the old rotary hoe in the field. Not much insect pressure has been observed at this point, but conditions are ready for an insect outbreak with slow crop growing conditions. Fall seeded cereal crops are being mowed for chopping. First cutting hay is being mowed, expect some poor quality with the amount of winter annuals in some first cutting fields. “

Logan McCrea (Region 11):

Appanoose, Davis, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, Van Buren, Wapello, Wayne counties

“Progress on field work has chugged along over the past week. Areas north of Highway 34 have been going since last weekend while south of Highway 34 started somewhere mid- to late last week. I would estimate planting progress somewhere around 50-60%, with higher amounts in the north vs the south. For fields that were planted in the April 21–23 timeframe, crusting has been a bit of an issue for those crops attempting to emerge. Both no-till and tilled corn/soybean fields have varying levels of issues with necks breaking off soybean plants and corn plants leafing out underground. Producers should take the time to evaluate stands in their fields due to this. Alfalfa weevil activity is relatively quiet in the fields that I scout but should continue to be monitored as temperatures warm up and we creep closer to first cutting. Pastures have slowed down a bit with the cooler weather recently but should pick up their pace over the next week. Some rye has headed out and was chopped over the past week. Calls recently have centered around cover crop termination, weed ID, and soil crusting.