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Corn fields destroyed by the August 10, 2020 derecho will have different crop residue than normal after grain harvest. Things that will be different include early plant death (at varying reproductive growth stages), ears at various stages of grain fill, and whole plants instead of “loose” stalks/leaves/husks after grain harvest (unless tilled). The amount of vegetative material, except for some husk material, basically reaches a maximum around R1- silking. Therefore, the amount of vegetative material will be the same now as would be after grain harvest.

The storms that moved across Iowa late last week and over the weekend brought rainfall, but they also brought some strong winds and hail. For those folks dealing with wind or hail damage, the first step should be to communicate with your crop insurance agent. Additionally, below are some resources that may be useful in evaluating the impact of the damage.

Hail Resources
 

Storms hit eastern Iowa yesterday, bringing variable amounts of rainfall and enough wind to blow some corn down. The damage seems to extend across multiple counties, but I witnessed many fields with varying amounts of damage in Linn and Jones counties.