Northwest Iowa — Most planting is done. In fact, most plants are already out of the ground in northwest Iowa.
That’s from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Agronomist Joel De Jong. He gives us an update.
He says while we could still use some rain, the weather has been favorable. He says it’s been nice to have some warmer temperatures.
De Jong says the subsoil moisture isn’t quite where it should be, so we’ll have to rely on timely rainfall this summer. He says he hopes the rain faucet doesn’t shut off for an extended period or some fields might be in trouble.
According to De Jong, there are a couple of things farmers should look out for right now.
De Jong says black cutworms do not make it through an Iowa winter. They must migrate here in the spring to lay eggs. He says ISU Extension has a trapping network to monitor when the adults reach our part of the state, and growing degrees to estimate when the larvae from these adults are big enough to start cutting corn — and now appears to be the time.
