As the harvest for corn for grain pushes on, agronomists are urging you to check the health of your crop before bringing it in. The United States Department of Agriculture recently lowered old crop production expectations by 71 million bushels according to Farm Journal. The change was due to the prevalence of corn tar disease in Midwestern states like Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Tar spots and rootworm were among the issues some farmers in Door and Kewaunee counties faced in their fields earlier this year with some other diseases coming as the crop quickly progressed last month. Rio Creek Feed Mill agronomist Adam Barta urges farmers to check their fields before going out to harvest.

Area farmers are just getting into their fields now to harvest high-moisture and dry corn this fall with recent weather making it a little more difficult than it was last month during the silage harvest. Barta says corn yields locally have looked so far. 

Picture courtesy of the Crop Protection Network