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North Central

July 27: We need rain

    No rain this past week. We need rain. Finished hauling in the bin bottoms of 2025 corn. Helping kids finish up 4-H projects for our county fair. Planning to start working on combine heads this week.

    Matthew Bormann, North Central Iowa CropWatch

    Matthew Bormann, North Central Iowa CropWatch

      Matthew Bormann grows corn and soybeans near Algona, Iowa, in Kossuth County. 

      July 20: Not much heat stress is showing

        Hot and no rain this week, but not much heat stress is showing. Beans are starting to pod. Corn is at full tassel.

        July 13: Teaching the dads about spray drones

          No rain for this past week. Big thing for our farm is the purchase of a new drone to spray fungicide and the learning process and certifications that go with it. Watching the confidence of my sons and nephews ranging from 12-18 years old teach dads 46 and 47 technology is amazing. But then w…

          July 6: Could have rootworm yield loss this year

            Had a wonderful 4th of July! We received 2 inches of rain for the week. I did find some rootworm feeding on a farm. I haven’t had too much of an issue over the years, but this year on that farm there will be some yield loss.

            June 26: We could use more rain

              We received 0.1 of an inch of rain for the week. We could use more rain. The crops everywhere around me look great! The odd thing about this year is that we haven’t had any pond-filling, gully-washing rain events where crop literally drowns out. If we can make it till harvest at this pace, i…

              June 22: Soybean post spraying is complete

                We received 0.8 of an inch of rain for the week. We need rain. Corn is really taking off. Soybean post spraying is complete. The Liberty and Enlist combination worked really well post on beans. Pest-wise, I’m not seeing much.

                June 16: We need rain really bad

                  Corn has really progressed, but we need rain really bad. We received just 0.1 of an inch for the week.

                  June 8: Corn honestly looks the nicest it’s ever looked

                    We received 0.15 of an inch of rain for the week. Crops are looking better. Corn honestly looks the nicest it’s ever looked.

                    June 1: Heat units are making a huge difference

                      We received 0.3 of an inch for the week. Heat units are making a huge difference. Crops look way better than last week. Beans are getting over that “Ugly Duckling” stage. On my farm corn is all sprayed post. This week we’ll sidedress the remaining 75% of our in-season nitrogen.

                      May 22: Cold and damp this week

                        We got 0.2 of an inch of rain Thursday night. Cold and damp this week. We need heat. You know it’s cold when both the crop and the weeds aren’t growing.

                        May 18: Many discussions about uneven emergence

                          We received 0.3 of an inch of rain last week, with 0.2 of an inch last night Sunday. I’ve heard many discussions this week about uneven emergence in both corn and soybeans, especially soybeans. General consensus is planting date and lack of moisture had the most to do with it and not the amo…

                          May 11: Corn is poking through and only looking better

                            Beans starting to germinate. Corn is poking through and only looking better. Depending on planting date and field conditions, growers are fighting crusting issues — not on everything. It always amazes me that the farm where I feel like I did everything right ends up being the problem field. …

                            May 5: Trying to plant and deal with breakdowns

                              We received 0.4 of an inch of rain April 27. Corn is starting to emerge. We could actually use some more rain. We had a very busy weekend trying to plant and deal with breakdowns.

                              April 27: Many cloudy days, lots of wind and cooler temperatures

                                Last week we received 0.4 of an inch of rain, many cloudy days, lots of wind and cooler temperatures. It made it hard to get anything planted or sprayed. Sunday evening we received 0.3 of an inch of rain. Currently sitting with half of my crops in the ground. Got some cover crop rye to kill,…

                                April 20: We’ve been lucky with weather

                                  We’re having fabulous weather up here. We have had planters in the area going all over the place. We’ve been lucky with weather, some rain but not too much, missing big, damaging storms and soaking in the warm days. A little more warmth and fortune on precipitation could help get it all plan…

                                  Matthew Bormann, North Central Iowa CropWatch Journal

                                  Matthew Bormann, North Central Iowa CropWatch Journal

                                    Matthew Bormann grows corn and soybeans near Algona, Iowa, in Kossuth County.

                                    Introducing Matthew Bormann

                                      Matthew and Nancy Bormann grow corn and soybeans near Algona, Iowa, in Kossuth County, with their three children, Reece, 15, Quinn, 12, and Greta, 9. Matthew is a fifth-generation Iowa farmer, farming since 1999. He is president of Bormann Ag LTD and has had several leadership roles on the K…

                                      Wrap-up: Hot finish and dryness took away some yield

                                        I spent most of last week planting cover crops. There are about 80 acres left to do. We got about 2 inches of snow Saturday, which resulted in a little snowmobile ride by my son. On Sunday, it’d melted off mostly. Next year, I’m considering using popup fertilizer on planters, and maybe folia…

                                        Nov. 3: Cleaning up equipment before winter is a priority

                                          I got a lot of book work done in the office last week. It was mostly cloudy, with some rain early last week, which kept the ground wet. I drilled cover crops Sunday and that will continue this week as I hope to finish it in a few days or so. Also getting cereal rye and vetch on corn stalks. …

                                          Oct. 27: Corn yields were disappointing even with fungicide

                                            We just wrapped up harvest yesterday afternoon, so we started to clean up equipment and will be seeding cover crops this week. For our area, it seemed corn yields were disappointing even with fungicide applied. But soybeans were better than average. This past week, some guys were starting to…

                                            Oct. 20: Earlier corn was better than later corn

                                              I’m combining corn today, and we should finish that this week. Earlier corn was better than later corn, particularly where fungicide was not sprayed which led to more southern rust. Not much moisture the past week to measure. I’m drilling for cover crops this week. Idler bearings on a corn h…

                                              Oct. 13: Waiting for calmer days to work on cover crops

                                                We’re doing some more corn harvesting today. We just got beans all finished Saturday. We had some sprinkles the other day, but it stayed rather dry over the last week. The heat we had dried things down. Our corn moisture tested at 14%. A lot of it at elevators is at 12%. Corn is still standi…

                                                Oct. 6: Upper 50s to low 60s for bean yields

                                                  We ran hard all week harvesting soybeans. On Thursday, we had a breakdown on the bean head so we’re hoping to get that back in shape quickly. We’re hoping cooler weather will keep beans from drying down more than what they have. We have a few days of soybeans to do, and toward the end of the…

                                                  Sept. 29: Looking at getting soybeans hammered out

                                                    We have had nice, clear skies and warm days to harvest for the last week on both corn and soybeans. It was dry the past week. I got some parts of bean fields where yields reached only the high 30s, other field sections were about 65 bu./acre. Fixed-up grain cart is helping with efficiency. M…

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