Crop Updates from Iowa Corn Leaders - Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Last week was cool and wet again which prevented many acres of corn from being planted. Our grower-leaders were busy this week as they had the opportunity to plant corn before the next round of rain.

Roger Zylstra of Lynnville, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA), was able to get back into his fields yesterday. Zylstra had previously planted about 50 percent of his corn acres. He hopes to finish planting corn today. A few farmers in his area have started planting soybeans. The plan is to start with soybeans soon and Roger hopes the warm temperatures forecast for this week will help with corn emergence.

Carl Jardon of Randolph says many farmers are finishing planting corn in his area of southwest Iowa. He is hoping to finish planting corn today, barring any breakdowns. Some of the corn that was planted early has emerged and the rows can be seen from the road. Farmers are quickly moving to plant soybeans. Jardon is hoping to get started planting soybeans before the next round of wet weather arrives this week.

Bob Bowman of DeWitt in Clinton County, president of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB), received between three to four inches of rain recently. It has been very wet in his area. Today, he and his son were able to get into the fields, but the winds were not helpful during their spraying. They are getting their tillage strips ready so they can plant corn and hoping to get a lot planted this week.

About an inch of snow fell on Nick Leibold’s farm last week. Leibold, who lives near New Hampton, is still tiling some of his fields. Some neighbors have been doing field work and are starting to plant. There is a lot of fertilizer going on as farmers are anxious to plant in his area.