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Welcome from waterlogged southeast Iowa. Since April 24th, rainfall amounts of 40 inches have been reported in some areas. As you can imagine, crops in those areas are suffering greatly.  North of I-80 in eastern Iowa is better, and there will be some good crops.

As a result of the heavy rains, nitrogen losses have been excessive and weed control has been spotty. Early planted crops seem to be doing the best. If we learned anything this year, we learned that once April 10th is here, look at soil conditions and not at the calendar. Corn started tasseling July 1, and has been progressing without any excess heat stress. Hopefully we can continue to get some rainfall {and not monsoons} to finish the late planted crops.

The 2010 growing season has been extreme in many areas. In my area of Southern Illinois and Eastern Missouri, we have corn starting to dent and some replanted corn 2 feet tall right next door. We have a large number of corn acres being treated with fungicide. We are starting to see Gray Leaf Spot and Common Rust in the corn. Overall we have had adequate to too much rain, but believe it or not there are some areas needing some rain. The soybeans are looking good in most of the well-drained fields.

Herbicide application has been a struggle in some areas due to excessive rain. The wheat harvest went quickly with yields suppressed due to the excessive moisture. The crops are maturing at a normal pace with more heat units compared to this time last year. The crops look good on well drained soils, and if drainage is a problem, the crop definitely shows it.

For the most part, crops in northeast Iowa & Wisconsin are looking good.  As is the case across most of the Corn Belt, there has been far too much rain across my region and as a result, the shallow root system may be a cause for concern if things turn dry in August. However, there has been plenty of moisture to get the crop through the crucial pollination period.  It's easy to see the tile lines, but in most areas there has been just enough time to drain the soils between rains to prevent ponding and resulting denitrification from occurring. 

I have found rootworm larvae and a few beetles over the last few weeks, and am beginning to see a few aphids.  Bottom line, barring any hail storms or high winds in the future my region looks to be on track for a bumper crop this year.

Well what can I say?  The good news with this year's crop is that there does not seem to be a lot of insect pressure to be concerned  with, at least not yet.  Corn ranges anywhere from V10 to R3(Roasting Ear Stage).   The main problems I am finding as I walk fields are water damage and nitrogen deficiency.  There are some fields experiencing heavy Gray Leaf Spot, but not nearly as much as I expected.  Common Rust is another very prevalent corn disease this year.  Weed control has been a huge issue this year also, with alot of fields naked or with just half rate of pre on. 

Beans are close to canopy, and rate from pretty good to horrible.  Most of the problems are due to moisture and weed control.  I have seen some fields sprayed for Japanese beetles, and I am finding an alarming number of stinkbug eggs and podworm moths, this is something we will have to keep an eye on.