Day 3 of Iowa soybean harvest has brought many interesting conversations with clients on fair grading, damage appeals, scale tickets without damage grades, discount schedules, crop insurance discount factors, and a big discrepancy in what co-ops and grain elevators are charging for the damaged grain. In one instance 10% damage grain might be a 32 cent discount and a few miles away that same 10% damage is $1.00. Crop insurance claims minimal so far with yields at or above aph. If you have a high damage amount, don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion!!

A few #soybeans pictures from customers in W IA and C IA 10-1-26. Reports of rotting, mushy, and molding beans. 2-5 inches of additional rains overnight. Earliest these beans might be able to be combined will be in 5 to 7 days. Please check your bean fields and post a picture or 2 of your pod and seed quality. Put county and state if possible.

9-8-26 update. Corn harvest is beginning in SE Iowa as corn moisture is in low 20s. Fields are still green and deceiving how dry the corn is already. Some fields have lost 20 points of moisture in less than 20 days! Excited to see how yield estimates compare to the combine! #harvest26

Several fields of corn about a week away from black layer in SE Iowa. Tested 35-37% mst. Ear weight is 9.5-10 oz

A couple #pftour26 charts showing the SE IA/SC IA route history for #corn ear weights and #corn ear moisture as of August 18, 2026. Using this data, my adjusted ear weight yield was down about 14 bpa vs last year. There is still going to be some very strong corn yields this fall, but also some disappointing ones in SC IA. Just a reminder that final corn yield is a function of not only kernels around and ear length and corn ear counts, but also corn ear weight, less cob weight, adjusted for grain moisture. We're measuring the current moisture to calculate potential yield gains from the date of the sample. Corn was 2.9% wetter using the SCIO tester than last year for the same date.

I spent a day this week on the #pftour26 in Southern Iowa checking 20 corn and soybean fields. SE corner of Iowa could be close to last year on corn yield but SC Iowa is definitely lower than a year ago. Lots of variability in fields and ear size. Seeing some shallow kernels and milk lines over 50% in some fields. Actual corn moisture avg 49.5% vs 46.6% last year on the same day. Beans have a shot to be really good! I’ll share more findings tomorrow!

We have tassels and silks this morning. I’d estimate 40-50% of local fields planted in April and early May are now pollinating in SE IA. Later planted corn now only a few days behind the April corn

Corn added about 6 inches since Tuesday. Field is more uneven in height compared to 2 years ago from the wetness.

Corn approaching knee high in this field in Henry County (SE) Iowa. Planted May 6. Follow along to see how fast this #corn grows in the coming weeks! Same field about 1 foot taller vs 2 years ago in the exact same spot

Received word this week that Iowa NASS and other states have discontinued their 2026 weekly crop progress reports. No more district planting, soil moisture, or district harvest estimates. We’ve used this district data for the past 25 years for many purposes and it’s quite disappointing that as technology advances, the information flow back to the farmer and grain industry has gone backwards.