Degree Days - Cool July With Good Crop Conditions

Iowa corn is tasselling and silking this week. We think of the silk date as a marker for the final 60 to 65 days in which the corn reaches physiological maturity. That means we might expect dry down to extend into October across the state. Soybeans are setting pods, and with timely August rainfall, pods should fill nicely. Last week we lost approxiamtely 50 degree days to average across Iowa, making July 2009 as one of the ten coolest in history