At the beginning of every growing season, we have hopes and goals in maximizing our yields.  In many instances, we only have one chance of planting a field correctly and if we don’t have the planter in tip-top condition we will miss out on achieving our goal.

Volunteer corn with herbicide resistance traits can be difficult to control after a strong wind or hail event causes ears to drop on the ground. Some areas can till these fields after fall harvest and irrigate to promote corn germination during the fall.

The state of Iowa is one of the best corn producing states in the Unites States. With the potential for increased corn acres across the state and increased corn after corn acres managing corn rootworms is a major concern.

Enlist E3™ soybeans received Chinese export approval early spring 2019, and interest for this soybean technology is high for the 2020 planting season. At Hoegemeyer, we were fortunate to have a good supply of Enlist E3™ soybeans to put on farm.

Soil nutrition is very important for us to grow healthy and productive crops. In our November blog, we recommended growers to have your soil sampling done this fall, so now that you have had that done, let us dive into why we need the nutrients that you tested for.

Corn maturity may be delayed by late planting and/or below normal summer temperatures. When slow corn development continues into the fall, corn grain may be significantly wetter at harvest. This can result in higher drying costs, mechanical damage to grain, and if a killing frost occurs before corn reaches maturity, yield reductions.

Cooler and wet conditions in the Western Corn Belt have delayed harvest and slowed grain drying, leading to increased ear rot diseases and grain molds. Some producers and consultants also are observing rotted cobs, which can be related to several ear rot diseases.

2019 brought us many adverse environmental conditions. As we look to start combining corn, harvest plans need to be made based on field evaluations.