Northwest Iowa — Many years ago, when corn hybrids were not as advanced, and it took longer to plant the corn, an old adage was “knee-high by the Fourth of July” — meaning that the corn plants would be as high as your knee by Independence Day.
But for several years now, it has been normal for corn plants to be much higher than that — perhaps up to your chest or even your head. However, this year, the old adage may be pretty accurate in some areas that had a very wet spring.
Iowa State University Extension Agronomist Joel De Jong gives us his thoughts on corn maturity.
He says that with the late planting dates, some farmers are worried about how this will all pan out in the fall.
De Jong says even with ideal fall weather, there will be loss just from the late planting dates. Plus, he says the extended forecast for the next 90 days gives a better than average chance for cooler and wetter weather, so he says we’ll just have to wait and see.
