What a spring to forget!

I think it's safe to say that (save for a few fields here and there), we've made it through corn and soybean planting season. Lots of acres replanted due to poor stands (pests, damping off, flooding). Lots of late first-cutting. But corn is definitely perking up (as far as V6 in some places), and soybeans are as far as V4. Knee-high by the 4th of July is a real possibility for many of our corn fields, but nothing close to what we expect these days, which is closer to shoulder-high by the 4th.

Thank you to those who reported weather damage you experienced or observed. This allows us to keep Ag and Markets in the loop about the conditions that farms are facing. As the thunderstorm season heats up, please continue to reach out when you experience or observe farm losses.

And due to the difficult conditions this spring, we've already received a few inquiries about a topic that we don't usually hear about until later in the year: the value of standing corn silage. Our colleague, John Hanchar of the Northwest NY regional CCE team, wrote a great article that may be of use to you if this a question you have: https://blogs.cornell.edu/nwny-dairy-livestock-field-crops/2025/07/02/crop-alert-pricing-corn-silage/ 

And if you haven't already, be sure to pre-register for our upcoming Corn and Soybean Seed IPM field day at SUNY Cobleskill: https://cals.cornell.edu/events/ipm-strategies-protect-corn-and-soybean-seed-new-york-state-cobleskill-meeting In addition to learning more about our neonicotinoid seed treatment trials, we're offering 1.5 DEC credits (Cat. 1A, 4, 10, 21) and 1.5 CCA credits (Cat. TBD). And free lunch!

2. Pest Monitoring

The late planting season could mean a difficult season for pest mgmt as crops have not had any real head-start. Soybean aphids are starting to show up, and potato leafhoppers are here in full force. My corn moth pest traps have been all but empty, so I'll spare you the chart. But we're monitoring them across the region again this year. Soon we'll be monitoring Western Bean Cutworm and Fall Armyworm. I've seen some minor losses to black cutworm, but we're rapidly reaching the stage where plants are no longer at risk (V5). Seed pests played havoc with early soybean acres due to the cool, wet conditions, so I know there were a lot of replanted acres around the region.

The wet conditions could also mean a bad year for diseases - we already have several reports of corn damping off (pythium) causing complete losses and replants in fields around the state (see pics below). Tar spot is showing up in PA, so this is definitely a year to keep your eye out for this new disease. Usually the moisture we have in the northeast is a blessing, but this year we've certainly had more than our share….

 

A. Potato Leafhopper in Alfalfa

3. Growing Degree Days (GDD) (See: Climate Smart Farming Growing Degree Day Calculator) Growing degree days (GDD) are calculated by taking the average daily temperature and subtracting the base temperature for development of a given organism ((High + Low)/2 - base temp = GDD). For corn silage, we are using base 50/86, as corn development starts at 50 degrees F and ceases above 86. Check your location and planting date:

See you in the field!