Many fields have been ravaged by adverse weather this year in Iowa. On top of drought and hail we had a devastating derecho steam-roll a wide swath of Iowa starting in Sac County and progressing eastward along Highway 30. Along with the decision of how to handle this year’s crop, consideration for protecting the soil and preparing for next year’s crop should include cover crops.
Extreme weather events may lead to a decision to make corn silage rather than harvest corn for grain, or to harvest acres that will exceed current silage storage capacity. Before harvesting for silage, make sure you have a market for the silage or a sufficient number of livestock to feed it to. It may be difficult to harvest good quality corn silage if the crop has weather damage and the economic value of the silage will likely be lower than silage from non-damaged fields.
Derecho. Another of those words we wished we hadn’t heard in 2020 but are quite certain we won’t forget about the results from its occurrence. Millions of corn acres were damaged, and there are many questions about the lasting impact.
In cornfields, what did it leave behind? The damage varies considerably, but for this article, let’s break injury into three categories:
Iowa Concern Hotline - 1-800-447-1985
Manage the Additional Stress following the Derecho - Brown, Aug 2020
Fungicide Use on Storm Damaged Soybean - Mueller/Robertson, Aug 2020 Read more about Storm Damage Resources
When steel grain bins sustain wind damage, careful inspection is needed to evaluate repair or replacement options. Inspection assistance and advice from a consulting engineer or bin manufacturer representative is the best option.
When damage is confined to the roof, sidewall sheets, or wall stiffeners of the bin, replacement of damaged materials may be feasible. Evaluation of displacement, distortion, or over-loading of the remaining structure is necessary prior to replacing damaged steel.
While some rainfall has come to the droughty areas of the state, drought intensified to D3 (extreme) drought in parts of central and west central Iowa. Unfortunately, a large swath of the state is now facing devastating infrastructure and crop damage after the August 10 Midwest Derecho. Our thoughts are with all Iowans as they work to assess and recover from damage.
One option to consider in fields with severe storm damage with no or limited yield potential is annual forages. This option may especially be of interest to livestock producers who could utilize the forage or may be short on forage or feed as a result of the storm damage. The following recommendations are meant to serve as a starting point for those considering an annual forage in storm damaged fields.
Corn is tasseling and silking across Iowa. A sizeable portion of the state is suffering through dry conditions while others have had measureable precipitation in the last few days. Unfortunately, the rain came with hail and strong winds earlier this week which resulted in corn root lodging in parts of Iowa.
An article on our web site discusses research findings that show the impact lodging this time of year has on yield.
