The bumper crop of potato leafhopper has affected many crops this year. Typically, natural control kicks in August with cooler temperatures and regular rainfall wetting foliage. Fourth cutting should be scouted at four to six inches tall for threshold levels, as growers should leave this cutting grow until early October. The planting window for seeding alfalfa is about over. A long, warm fall might bail you out if you plant after August 20.
Commodities report The corn crop condition is highly variable from field to field.
Many fields show drought stress with firing, dinky ears or poor pollination. Corn is drying down fast. Plan to start corn silage harvest soon. Examine and rate fields for which to chop first and which to shell. European corn borer traps continue to catch low levels of moths.