Regional Crop Update: June 29 - July 7, 2026

Jul 08, 2026

By Rebecca Vittetoe and Marli Anderson

The hot and humid conditions last week really pushed the crops along. The week also brought heavy rainfall to parts of the state – including areas in central Iowa getting 12+ inches over a 3-day period. Corn fields are starting to tassel, and soybeans are fully in the reproductive stages now. Bacterial leaf streak, Goss’s wilt, weed escapes, Japanese beetles, and adult corn rootworm beetles emerging are some of the issues observed by ISU extension field agronomists this past week. Read on for more specific updates on what’s happening in fields around the state.

Angie Rieck-Hinz (Region 3)

Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Webster, Worth, Wright counties

“Corn ranges from late vegetative stages to VT. At this point in time, disease pressure remains fairly low, but I am seeing more and more Bacterial leaf streak, gray leaf spot, and some northern corn leaf blight. I have yet to find tar spot. Our current weather conditions are providing enough humidity, but it’s been a bit too warm for tar spot. You can track tar spot by looking at this map. Soybeans are R2, and I am sure there are R3 beans out there somewhere.

Source : iastate.edu

Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.